Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass
by Mockingbird79
Summary: In late 2181, I woke up on the Citadel, in another Universe. Of course, that's not so strange, considering I'd just spent 6 years in Rapture. But now, one year later, it's time for Shepard, Saren, the Reapers... Mass Effect. The epic continuation of the Massive Shock Self Insert Series. Cover by Skyline19.
1. Ch 0: Prologue

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**What the horrors of war are, no one can imagine. They are not wounds and blood and fever, spotted and low, or dysentery, chronic and acute, cold and heat and famine. They are intoxication, drunken brutality, demoralization and disorder on the part of the inferior... jealousies, meanness, indifference, selfish brutality on the part of the superior."**

**~Florence Nightingale~**

* * *

**A/N: Welcome to the unofficial beginning to Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass! This is a teaser opening to Massive Shock 2, and it really has nothing to do with the story line of Massive Shock 2, but it'll give you a good background. This chapter zero is about Shepard, the true hero of both Mass Effect and Massive Shock.**

**I'm going to do something different. Something that's not been done before, as far as I know. I'm taking everything Shepard could be, and making that my Shepard. He's got one origin, the Colonist origin on Mindoir, but many war stories. He's a ruthless badass, a sole survivor and a merciful war hero. As a result, he's unique. He won't be completely Paragon, and he won't be totally Renegade. But he won't exactly be Renegon, nor Paragade. My Shepard will seem to lean towards Paragon, but he'll do things that will seem Renegade, or even act as a Renegade in certain situations. He's unique. You'll see how. And here you'll get to see why.**

**I wrote this, some time ago, because I felt my Shepard needed a reason to be special and I needed to show you why. Also because I knew I'd have to delay the release of Massive Shock 2 by a little and I didn't want to just leave you guys high and dry for a while. So here you go a little refresher and something to (hopefully) keep you satisfied for the epic return of Massive Shock. **

**Note: This is a HUGE chapter. I recommend reading it in multiple sittings to prevent tedium and general boredom and disinterest. Though I worked really hard on this, so it really should be neither tedious nor boring and I'd hate for you guys to get bored by it, simply due to the fact you read the whole thing in one sitting. This chapter is 60 pages. Please take periodic breaks. Oh and it's pretty angst. Just saying. Have fun and enjoy!**

* * *

**Prologue: Shepard, Origin Story**

**Colonist: Coldest Fire**

**11:12 AM April 8, 2170**

* * *

Johnny Shepard stands, in the backyard of his family's farm. Johnny smirks at the thought of that blurry line called a fence way off in the distance as the boundary to his family's land.

To him, the last star in the galaxy was the limit to his backyard. He smiles at the thought.

Johnny Shepard: the galaxy is his backyard.

Johnny laughs quietly to himself.

This has been his family's land for as long as he could remember, since before he was born actually. Johnny's grandfather first purchased this land when Mindoir was first colonized. And Johnny's glad he did. He couldn't have asked for a more beautiful place to grow up. The sky is starry all the time, like the sky at night on Earth, but the gas giant Mindoir orbits reflects enough light to light the planet without making the sky blue. The gas giant is so close. When he was young, Johnny used to think he could pluck the rings of it out of the sky and give them to his former crush, Suzy Townsend, for her birthday.

Johnny sighs and leans back against the porch.

"Hey, Johnny!" Johnny's girlfriend Amy shouts running down the field toward him.

Johnny smiles and sits up. She runs through the tall grass, her pale yellow dress catching gently on the vegetation. She holds her shoes in her hand, above the grass so she won't drop them and have to slow down to pick them up and delay feeling her first love's touch. One of the straps holding up her dress has fallen past her bronze shoulder and sits ignored. Her long bright auburn hair flows in the wind and Johnny thinks he can see her emerald eyes sparkle from here.

Amy finally reaches him and she stops and leans on her knees, breathless from running, and in the bright sunlight there's a light shine of perspiration on her golden tanned skin. He places a hand on her waist and kisses her full slightly pale lips.

She sits down next to him and rests her head on his shoulder. He holds her tight and close to him with a hand on her waist.

Amy looks up at him and smiles in happy confusion. "Why are you smiling?"

Johnny's eyebrows furrow. "I'm not smiling."

"Yes you are!" She protests. "What do you mean you're not? You're totally smiling."

Johnny thinks for a second. "Well I'll be damned… I am smiling, aren't I?"

She nods. "Yeah. You're lucky you have a nice smile."

Johnny smirks. "Oh really?"

She nods. "Yeah. It's nice because you smile more in your eyes than in your face. And you smile so much in your face so you'd be surprised to see how much you smile in your eyes. I love your smile."

Johnny smiles. "I love you."

She kisses him instantly.

"Johnny?" Johnny's mother calls from inside the house.

"Yeah, mom?" Johnny calls back pulling away from Amy.

She comes out and wipes her hands, wet from dishes, on her apron and she smiles at Amy. "Hi Amy! Johnny. Have you been practicing?"

Johnny rolls his eyes. "I have… just not today."

She feigns distaste. "Johnny, Johnny… What am I going to do with that lazy ass of yours?"

Johnny smirks. "Maybe give me easier jobs?"

His mom feigns deep thought. "Um. No. Go find your father and practice, alright?"

Johnny stands with a sigh and readjusts his grey hooded sweatshirt. "Yes, mom."

His mother reenters the house and Amy stands up next to him. "Can I come and watch?"

Johnny nods and takes Amy's hand. "Of course."

He leaves his "Backyard" and walks around his large two story house toward the barn. He opens the large metal door and shuts it behind him after he walks in.

Inside the barn, if you could call it that, a small gym and fighting ring occupy one side of the barn, while the other side is occupied by a large well-stocked workshop, which is where his father works. In effect, it's less of a barn, and more of a workshop but if you call it anything else other than "The Barn," Johnny's father, Andrew Shepard, would beat you down on your ass without a second thought. And, in effect, this could be considered unnecessary, gratuitous, and pointless assault but on Mindoir the rules are a little different. More specifically the rules are a little different in the Shepard household. This is why Johnny wouldn't want to grow up anywhere else. Anywhere else isn't as much fun.

Johnny nods at his oldest brother, Garret, who spars in the boxing ring with Johnny's other older brother, Eddy.

Sometimes Johnny resents being the youngest of three sons, but he relishes being the best looking. Johnny laughs quietly to himself at the thought.

He walks over to his father. "Hey dad, mom wanted you to help me practice."

Johnny's father, a huge man who resembles his sons uncannily save for having the body of a lumberjack, with beard and gut to match, and for the grey stripes of hair mixed in with the black atop his shaggy head, stops building the dog house and looks up at him. "Sure, son. Let's get started right away."

Johnny joins his father in the center of the room and removes his sweatshirt. He tosses it to Amy who catches it and holds it close to her chest, smiling with pride.

"Alright son, I know you're still pretty new at this, and I know you don't have an amp yet, but let's see what you got. I want you to hit me with as much biotic energy as you can muster." Johnny's father says, puffing out his broad chest, much to his surprise.

"You sure, dad?" Johnny asks nervously.

"Don't question the opportunity!" Eddy shouts, stopping his assault of Garret to watch.

"Yeah! Just get him!" Garret shouts, leaning on the edge of the ring.

Johnny hops up and down and shrugs off his self-doubt. "Okay… If you guys say so."

He clenches his fists together and focuses everything he's got. His biotic aura starts to waft off him like smoke and flames. After he feels he's got everything he's got in him out, he throws it all at his dad, a bright blue ball of energy.

The ball of energy hits his dad on his chest and explodes, tossing him off his feet.

Johnny grimaces in worry. "Dad? You alright?"

He wheezes. "Yeah! Just a little winded. That was quite a punch, good work for not having an implant. I could hardly move a cup without an implant."

Johnny shrugs. "Just comes naturally I guess."

Eddy and Garret applaud sarcastically.

"Bravo!" Eddy shouts with a wry smile. "Now if only you could fight like that in the ring!"

Johnny smirks. "You want to test that?"

Eddy straightens and flexes his entire array of upper body muscles. "Let's go, bro."

Johnny strips off his shirt and tosses that to Amy too. He vaults over the edge of the boxing ring and Garret hops out. Johnny and Eddy start sparring, displaying their mastery of their father's style of CQC combat. It is definitely a style honed over the years, and it is definitely a soldier gone farmer's style of fighting. It's a healthy mix of grapnels, throws, counters, holds, and takedowns along with plenty of fighter style punches, elbow and knee strikes, and high kicks. The style was actually designed to allow one to combat multiple people at once in the most efficient way possible. That is to say: Kill each person ASAP, thereby lessening the number of people you still have to kill.

A good creed to guide your life by, if you'd ask Johnny's father.

The fighting is rough and both combatants are tireless, throwing high kicks following into a roundhouse, moving into a grapple and take down or series of strong jabs. Their style is almost identical, and each fighter has the same strength as well: The ability to assess and exploit the other's weakness.

This proves useless in this situation as each fighter has the same weaknesses, or rather the lack of weaknesses. The fight is spurred on by both Garret and Amy, both being neutral parties in this situation.

"Stop!" Johnny's father suddenly roars.

Everyone falls dead silent. Nobody's heard him sound so serious, or angry. What did they do wrong?

Garret frowns at him. "Dad, what's-"

His father shushes him and turns his ear to the door. After a second, they all hear it. A mechanical screaming?

Johnny's father runs to the barn door and throws it open, effortlessly. The mechanical screaming becomes clear now. It's an alarm.

Johnny takes his shirt and sweatshirt back from Amy and pulls them on hastily. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Andrew!" Johnny hears his mother scream.

Johnny's father hurls himself from the barn and sprints towards the house.

"Johnny!" Amy cries in fear, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

"Garret!" Johnny's father shouts as he sprints toward the house. "Shut the barn!"

Garret instantly starts closing the barn door but Eddy tries to stop him.

"We have to help him!" Eddy roars. "We have to help mom!"

Garret growls at him. "We'll help him by doing what he says, dammit!"

Eddy turns to Johnny. "Johnny! Tell him-"

A loud gun retort sounds out and blood sprays out from Eddy's abdomen.

He looks down and lets out a breath he'd been holding. He gasps and touches the wound. He stares wide eyed at the blood that pours down and stains his jeans. His vintage jeans.

Johnny reacts quickly and pulls him into the barn. Garret closes the door and bullets start to strike its exterior. Garret throws down a barricade over the door and runs to Johnny's side.

"I don't know what to do!" Johnny roars in panic while applying pressure to the wound.

Garret nods. "I'll handle it, get dad's gun and get onto the loft."

Johnny nods and grabs his dad's rifle and runs to the ladder. He's not up more than two rungs before he feels a hand on his wrist.

"Johnny, don't." Amy cries to him, she's crying so much. She's crying so much her eyes look three times their original size. She's crying so much tears actually fall off her face and onto her chest and dress. "Please don't leave me." She presses her head against his hand. "Please… I need you."

Johnny frowns and he know this is going to hurt him so bad. "Garret."

Garret places his bloody hands on Amy's shoulders and pulls her away from Johnny.

"No. Please. I need you."

Johnny doesn't respond. He just climbs the ladder. He feels something tear inside of him.

"Eddy!" He hears Garret shout from down below. "You got to keep that tourniquet tight!"

"I-I-I'm t-trying. M-M-My h-hands are sh-sh-shaking so m-much." Johnny hears Eddy say through hyperventilation.

"He's in shock Garret!" Johnny roars as he crawls toward the open window to the farm. "Elevate his legs!"

Johnny looks down the iron sights and looks for a target. There are lights, gunshots, and screams coming from the house. With a flash of blue light he sees a figure fly out of the second story window. The figure hits the yard with an audible cry.

The figure gets to his feet and brushes off his black armor. Johnny sees he is batarian. Slavers.

Johnny scowls and lines the sights with the batarian's head. But he hesitates. He has never killed anyone before, just wild game.

The batarian groans and stretches his back.

This was a person. Someone with problems and a life. Is it so simple? To decide whether or not someone has the right to live or die?

Suddenly two figures are thrown out into the yard, in front of the lone batarian.

Four more walk out behind the figures, which Johnny now recognizes as his mother and father.

Johnny draws in breath sharply.

"I can't…" He whispers to himself. "I'm sorry I can't be like you, dad. I can't kill someone. I can't kill another person. I-"

And then he decides that, batarian slavers are not people.

And he feels something tear in him.

Because one just shot his father in the back of the head.

"Johnny?!" Garret shouts from below. "What was that? Johnny?!" If Johnny can hear his mother's cries, so can Garret. "Johnny!" Garret roars. "Johnny! Tell me what happened!"

Johnny blinks to clear his vision of tears. He takes a deep shaking breath. And pulls the trigger.

One falls, blood spurting from his neck.

He pulls the trigger.

Another falls, blood pouring from one of his eyes.

He pulls the trigger.

Dirt is kicked up next to his dead father.

He pulls the trigger but his weapon malfunctions and won't fire.

Bullets start flying into the barn and Johnny ducks to protect his head.

"Fuck!" He curses, beating his father's rifle. "Work dammit!"

It stops talking back and the overheat meter is gone again. Johnny instantly whips it out and shoots at another batarian, clipping him in the shoulder.

He sees another dragging his mother to an open topped truck. Johnny growls and bares his teeth and points his rifle at that one.

He shoots him in the back, causing him to topple over.

"Run, mom!" Johnny roars out the window. She sprints, running toward the barn. "Come on…"

A batarian, Johnny thought was dead raises a pistol.

"NOOOO!" Johnny roars and the gun retorts. "No! No! No… Dammit! No!"

Johnny jumps to his feet and shoots the batarian in the face. And Johnny's backyard, Mindoir, goes quiet. But no, not all quiet.

His world screams. And he feels something tear inside of him.

"Johnny!" Garret roars from below. "Johnny! What happened?! Johnny, you fucking answer me! Johnny! Goddammit, answer me!"

He props the gun up against the sill of the window and walks slowly to the edge of the loft. He looks down at them, and he just shakes his head. He just shakes his head. No, he pantomimes. Just no.

Garret bows his head and rocks his bleeding brother. Eddy stares blankly at Johnny. He closes his eyes and tears roll down his face.

Amy just stares at Johnny.

Johnny goes down the ladder. He turns around, eyes averted, his hands bury themselves deep in his pants pockets.

A long silence stretches.

"What should we do?" Eddy, the man with the least time on his hands, asks nobody in particular.

A long silence stretches.

"I don't know." Johnny mumbles.

An engine roaring from outside makes them all jump to attention.

"Garret!" Johnny whisper-shouts. "Garret get on your feet!"

Johnny drags Garret to his feet. Garret wipes his face and steels himself.

"Garret, there's more coming! We need to get out of here!" Johnny growls at him.

Garret nods. "What should we do?"

"The tunnel, remember we used to hide in there until dad closed it up?" Johnny nods at the boarded up hole.

Garret nods. "I remember. It leads to the basement. We can try to get across the field to your parent's house, Amy."

Amy just nods. She looks so scared.

Garret nods and walks toward the ladder. "Johnny, start working on getting that tunnel open. I'll slow them down."

Garret climbs the ladder and Johnny rushes to the boarded up tunnel just as there's a banging on the barn door.

"Open up, you rotten punks!" A slaver roars from outside. He sounds like death. "We have you surrounded! Open up and we won't kill you! I said-"

He's interrupted by a loud gunshot from Johnny's dad's rifle. Assault rifle fire follows.

Johnny grabs a crowbar and easily pops the tunnel door open. "Garret! I got the tunnel open! Garret! Garret?! Garret!"

Blood drips over the edge of the loft. Amy covers her mouth with her hand.

"Garret, goddammit!" Johnny cries. "Garret! Answer me!"

There's a banging on the door and a bright light starts cutting through the door.

"Johnny!" Amy cries.

Johnny grabs her hand and kisses her. "We'll be alright." He grabs her waist and eases her into the tunnel. "I'll be right back. Don't worry."

"No please!" Amy cries, clutching at his hands. "Please, I'm afraid of the dark, please don't go! I don't want to be alone!"

While Johnny consoles her, Eddy watches the bright light make its way up the door, trailing a glowing red slice in the metal. Eddy coughs and looks over at his dad's workbench. He spots some things taped underneath.

He drags himself to it and takes them. One frag grenade and a pistol. Eddy coughs and gasps and drags himself back against a pile of crates so his back is against it.

"Johnny." He calls weakly.

Johnny looks up then back down to Amy. "Amy, I'll be right back, okay?"

"No please!"

"Dammit, Amy!" Johnny roars at her. "I need to help my brother!"

She sobs and drifts away from him slowly.

Johnny feels something tear inside of him, in his heart. But he turns away, from the guilt, the regret, the feeling of helplessness and walks to his brother.

"Come on Eddy, I'm getting you out of here." Johnny says reaching for him.

Eddy shoves the pistol in his face. "Get in the tunnel."

"Eddy…"

"In the tunnel." He lowers the pistol, coughs and nods at the door. "You're almost out of time. And stop crying."

"Eddy, please. I need you."

"No you don't." He pulls the pin on the grenade and keeps a hold on its lever. "You don't need anybody anymore. We don't have anybody anymore. Go. I want this. I'd just slow you down anyway. And stop crying. You have to be strong."

"Eddy!" Johnny cries.

Eddy shoots the pistol next to Johnny's foot making him jump backwards. "Go!"

Johnny stumbles back. He doesn't even know he's doing it. He feels something tear in him and he jumps into the tunnel. He closes the boards over the entrance and watches through the cracks.

The cut out of the door finishes and it falls forwards into the barn. A batarian steps in and is welcomed with a bullet to the brain.

A second comes in, this one with his gun raised. He is shot in the neck and he dies.

Two more jump in but are both tagged by a barrage of shots before they let out more than a few shots.

But those shots hit home. Three more bullet wounds cover Eddy now. But he can't feel them. Eddy releases the lever on the grenade and tosses it into the entrance and raises his pistol.

The explosion follows and something blocks the boards so Johnny cannot see. All he can do is listen and wait in the pitch darkness, Amy shaking and breathing erratically next to him. It is silent for a while. Just Eddy's coughing. Then voices, angry shouts and bellows. Then the sound of a circular saw. For minutes that feel like hours, Eddy screams over the sound of a saw. And for hours that feel like days after that, he makes choking and gasping noises as batarians beat him mercilessly. Somehow he holds on. Finally there is only the sound of Eddy's choking noises, his gasps for air, and his sobs.

Finally, Johnny rams his shoulder against the boards and they topple over both the debris blocking it and the boards themselves. Johnny climbs out of the tunnel, one which they didn't take more than two steps into, and he walks into the destroyed barn.

Eddy coughs and wheezes and gasps and chokes. His arm is cut off. His leg is cut off. He's mutilated, beaten, burned. But he's alive.

Something once strong tears in Johnny. He now knows batarians are not people. They're monsters.

Johnny kneels next to his brother. Eddy looks at him with the only one frost blue eye he has left. Johnny places a hand on his brother's face.

"Where's the pistol, Eddy?"

Eddy looks down at his disembodied arm, not a few feet from his body.

Johnny takes the pistol from the arm's cold and stiff grip. Johnny repositions himself so he's face to face with his brother. He strokes his cheek and places the pistol to his brother's forehead.

"Johnny." He gasps, blood sloshes from his mouth and his speech is impended from the lack of his tongue and many teeth. "Don't cry."

He's starting to convulse, like the effort to say those words was too much cognitive effort for his damaged brain to handle.

Johnny's tears drop onto Eddy's lap. He moves the pistol and kisses his brother on the forehead.

He puts the pistol back in place and pulls the trigger.

"I love you, bro." Johnny whispers to his brother's mangled lifeless ear.

He walks quickly back to the tunnel. He can hear them coming. They heard the shot.

Johnny jumps back into the tunnel and pulls the boards back over the tunnel entrance. He shoves the pistol in his pocket and grabs Amy's hand, fumbling with it a little in the dark. He turns to the other end of the tunnel and sees nothing but darkness. This makes his shiver but he takes a few steps forward and he starts to run towards the darkness. He has to drag Amy along, her feet seeming to fail her. He doesn't say anything, just keeps moving. After ages, he hears smashing behind them. They found the tunnel. He finally sees a dull light at the end of the tunnel and Johnny starts to sprint towards it, still dragging Amy along but she's at least trying to cooperate now, the promise of light and an end to choking darkness too good to let up.

They reach it and they can hear batarians coming down the tunnel towards them. Johnny kicks open the boards blocking their exit and drags Amy into the basement. He wastes no time and drags her upstairs, through the ransacked house, and out the backdoor. He drags her down the field, both running as fast as they can to the house in the distance.

"Johnny!" Amy shouts desperately. "Slow down, please!"

"We can't!" He sounds so desperate. The night sky is orange and black with flames and screaming.

He just keeps dragging her down the field. But she gets real heavy all of the sudden.

She fell.

Johnny kneels next to her, without letting go of her hand.

She'd been shot.

He didn't even hear the sound of the gunshot, all he can hear are screams and the blood rushing through his ears.

Blood pours from the wound in her chest. "Johnny…"

"I'm here." He's crying.

"Don't cry, Johnny." She places a hand on the side of his face.

"I can't help it."

"I know. Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared. I don't want to be alone. Do you think it'll be dark? I'm afraid of the dark."

"You won't be alone." Johnny was fully aware of the ring of batarians closing in on him. "I'll be there with you soon."

"Johnny…"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you protect me?" Something tears in him. "Why didn't you stay with me? Johnny?" She starts to gasp and panic and convulse. "It's dark! Johnny! It's…"

Amy's hand falls from the side of his face.

He holds her close and rocks her back and forth in his arms. She's still so warm.

A hand grabs his collar and tries to pull him away from her. He holds on tight.

A rifle butt hits him in the back and the face but he holds on tight. Someone tries to tear Amy away but he holds on tight.

Finally they're forced apart. He's thrown into a ring of 10 batarians, kicking, spitting, cursing, batarians.

That's when Johnny feels that thing that's been tearing, snap.

The dark ground gets really bright blue and he pounds the ground with his fists and the kicking and the spitting and the cursing stop.

Johnny looks up and sees the 10 batarians around him are dead, torn apart.

Johnny sits down and faces the main colony, the city, and watches it burn and scream. And there's nothing he can do about it.

He hugs his knees to his chest, and rests his chin on his knees. He's being watched. He fights sobs, looks away from Amy's cold eyes, wide with something. Fear? Anguish? Sorrow? Pain? Maybe Hate?

Without looking at her, Johnny reaches his hand out and places his hand on her face. He pulls her eyelids shut and watches the city burn.

And what does he look at the city with? Fear? Anguish? Sorrow? Pain? Maybe Hate?

All of the above?

That's it.

Johnny stands and picks up a pistol. He decides, there, that there's nothing left to live for. That there's nothing else to fight for, not anymore. So he walks across the field, seeking to traverse the 37 miles to the capital of Mindoir. Seeking death.

He had not more to do, however, than to look in any direction, because death was everywhere. And in a world like that, why even try to look for hope?

But like looking for a light in utter darkness, all you need to know, is which direction it's coming from.

"Hey! Kid!"

Johnny looks up slowly at the man running down the field toward him. He's wearing an Alliance uniform. One of the men stationed at the city, no doubt.

"Kid! Where're you going?" The soldier asks him, still from a ways away.

Johnny looks down at the pistol in his hand. He blinks and tosses it into the grass. He looks back up at the soldier as he reaches him.

"Kid, we got to get to safety." The man says, breathless. "The slavers! They're… they're doing something to the people! They're… putting things in their heads, it's horrible. Don't go to the city, that's their main base."

Johnny frowns. The man frowns back and looks up and down Johnny's blood covered form.

"Kid… You… You're alright?"

Johnny looks back at the city. "No. Follow me."

Johnny starts walking toward the city again.

"Wait! I just told you! The slavers are freaking torturing people there!"

Johnny turns back to him. "Yeah. We have to go help them."

The Alliance soldier groans. "Listen kid, I know you're… eh, new to this? But that's a stupid idea."

"Really?" Johnny turns right around and walks right up to the soldier. "I don't know about you, but everyone I've ever loved were killed in the last… oh… 6 hours or so? So I think I'm done with stupid things, I think I'm thinking clearer than I ever had before in my life. I think that it would be stupid to just try and wait this out like the Alliance soldier in front of me thinks. My name is John Shepard, I was born on Mindoir…" John pauses and shakes his head to fight off tears because he knows he can't cry. "And I think I'd like to die here too. Follow me or don't but I'm going to try and help people."

John starts to walk down the field to the orange glow on the horizon, the capital city. Soon after, he hears footsteps behind him that continue to follow him.

John smiles.

* * *

**End of Part 1…**

**A/N: Please take a break. I'll wait… … … … … … … … Okay, here we go. No but seriously, take a break.**

* * *

**6 Years Later…**

**War Hero: Last Stand**

**5:47 AM October 19, 2176**

* * *

Class N3 2nd Lieutenant John Shepard sits very still, watching the sunrise on Elysium.

"Hey, John." John's friend, Matt Cervantes says, sitting down next to him and handing him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." John mumbles staring into the cup of coffee.

"Hey man, what's wrong?" Matt asks him, placing a hand on his back.

John shrugs. "I don't know… I think it's the sunrise."

Matt frowns and looks at the sunrise. "The sunrise? The sunrise is putting you down?"

John shrugs again. "I have a theory about why but I'd rather not talk about it. It makes me sad but I like watching it."

"So… you like being sad?"

John smiles. "I guess so."

"There ya go." Matt says smiling and patting John on the back. "I got a smile out of the man of steel."

John grins and continues to stare at the sunrise.

"Whoa." Matt mumbles.

John looks at him. "What?"

"Never seen you smile like that before. I mean that right there is a real smile. So all the smiles you've been smiling up until now have been lies." Matt narrows his eyes at John.

John laughs loudly and lays his assault rifle across his legs. After a while of pleasant silence, Matt points at the sky.

"Hey, check that out!" Matt says with a smile, pointing at the sky. "A meteor shower!"

John squints at the sky in confusion. Red streaks of light cross overhead. John frowns and gets to his feet.

"Those meteors must be big…" Matt mumbles. "They're getting awful close…"

John scowls in realization. "Those aren't meteors…"

Matt looks at John. "What are they?"

John turns on his rifle and holds it tightly. "Batarian drop pods."

Suddenly a number of the pods start striking the area nearby making the earth shake and dirt rain from the sky. Matt and John hit the ground and protect themselves on instinct. A loud roaring, the sound the wind makes in your ears when it rushes past, alerts John to look up at the sky.

A fiery red pod comes straight at them. John, fearing for his friend's safety, grabs the back of his shirt and hauls him out of the way as fast as he can. The pod collides with the ground, collapsing part of the cliff face and sending Matt and John flying through the air. The pod stops right at the edge of the cliff and a hatch on the back explodes off the pod.

"Fan out! 25 meter spread! I want this outpost cleared for a march to Illyria by sundown!" Shepard hears a batarian roar to a group of interspecies soldiers.

The group starts moving in separate directions, two of them are headed for Matt and John who stay low in the brush.

John picks up a rock and takes aim carefully. He hurls it straight into the batarian landing pod, his movement obscured by the tall grass around him. The rock lands inside and bounces around, announcing its presence with an extremely loud banging.

The soldiers whirl around and walk back to the pod. They all gather around the entrance, just like John wanted. He unclips a grenade from his belt and tugs the pin out with his teeth. He lobs it into the crowd of black armored soldiers.

"Grenade!" One roars panicked. "Haul ass!"

They all turn tail to haul ass out of there, but they each take no more than a few steps before the grenade sends them all flying into the air. John sprints forward and raises his rifle at the prone bodies, just in case. All are motionless. He signals Matt forward.

Matt, who was on leave, is unarmed and unarmored. He quickly scoops up an assault rifle from one the corpses and makes sure it's functioning.

"That was pretty badass, bro." Matt comments approaching John from behind.

"Don't call me that." John grunts in response and stares out at Illyria, Elysium's capital city.

"What the fuck is going on here, anyway?" Matt asks, likely not expecting a true answer. "This seems a little large scale for a pirate attack."

"It is." John responds. "This is probably backed by the batarian government."

"Why?"

"We're in 'their' territory." John responds sarcastically, actually air-quoting for emphasis. "They want it back. Simple as that."

Matt scoffs. "War isn't simple."

John instantly nods. "I agree. We need to find Commander Dunn. He'll know what we should do."

Matt nods and follows John back towards the nearby Alliance outpost.

They reach it quickly but they then realize the gravity of the situation. Scores of squads of 5-10 black armored soldiers charge at the outpost, weapons raised and firing at the outpost. Alliance soldiers desperately fight back, but they're already being overwhelmed.

John curses and hides behind a rock nearby.

Matt places a hand on his shoulder. "What should we do, John?"

"Let me think…" John rubs the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "The counter measures… where are the controls?"

Matt looks doubtful. "That'll be tough man, they're all inside the outpost."

John raises a hand to his ear and presses his comm. "Commander Dunn! Commander! This is Lieutenant Shepard!"

"_Reading you, Lieutenant! Good to hear you're alright John. Cervantes with you?"_ Dunn's gruff voice growls back.

"Yes sir." John responds. "Sir, we can't get into the base, there's too many pirates. I suggest using the countermeasures, sir."

John hears Dunn sigh. _"Don't you think I thought of that? They're malfunctioning. And you know that the mortars are still broken from Cortez's late night shenanigans from last week. And we can't fix the problem with the counter measures seeing as how we can't even take two steps out of the outpost; those pirates have us pretty much boxed in… I need you to do something for us son."_

"Sir?" John already knows what he needs to do.

"_I need you to reconnect a broken coupling. It should be at the cliff-side, one of the pods must've hit it."_

John nods and looks back toward the cliff-side. "I think I know where it is."

"_Good. We'll keep a finger on the button. Don't go and get yourself killed, son. We're counting on you in here. God-Speed."_

John lowers his hand and turns to Matt. "Stay here, Matt. I'll be back soon."

Matt looks reluctant but nods.

John charges down to the cliff-side, about a quarter mile away. He reaches it quickly and runs up to the drop pod. It's big, and heavy looking, and John's not quite sure how he's going to get it out of the way.

It's pretty much hanging over the cliff-side…

John runs around and removes the grenades from each pirate's belt. He attaches them all to one belt, creating a grenade belt of 12 grenades. John takes a bootlace off one pirate and daisy chains it through the pins of the grenades. John places the grenade belt at the base of the pod, underneath it slightly. He pins one side down with his foot and yanks the bootlace like the ripcord to a lawnmower. The pins all pop out and John hauls his ass away.

He dives behind a rock and covers his ears. There's a huge explosion and rocks fly like missiles overhead and the dirt showers like water. John gets up to look at his handy work, just in time to see the pod topple over the edge of the cliff.

He smiles and walks over to the crater where it was. Out of the dirt, there are two ends of a thick electrical cord, sparks dancing at where they should meet.

John grabs the ends of each and pulls them together. With some effort he manages to bring the cords together and mash their distended wirings together. There's a large spark and a bright light from behind him. He keeps his hold on the cords to make sure the countermeasures continue.

Suddenly there's a bright light and a terrible pain that shoots through John's body, making him convulse and howl silently with pain. And he falls unconscious.

* * *

**Many Hours Later…**

"John?" John feels his shoulders being shaken. "John! Wake up!"

John opens his eyes and frowns up at Matt. "Matt, what's going on?"

"We thought you died, man. You didn't come back after the countermeasures fired. I see that they fried you pretty good though."

John sits up and looks down at the cords.

Matt frowns at him. "Well… I got some bad news. The battalion left the outpost. They were ordered to abandon it to protect the city."

John buries his face in his hands. "Great…"

"I stayed behind to find you. I pulled the ol' 'I'm on leave so I don't have to listen,' card." Matt grins. John notices he's fully armored now.

Matt helps him to his feet and John brushes himself off. He picks up his rifle and walks side by side with Matt back to the outpost.

They cross the killing fields, burnt blackened bodies of the pirates, twisted and mouths agape with endless agony. The pair enters the abandoned outpost, a neat line of covered corpses near one wall, Alliance, no doubt.

John walks up to the first in the line of corpses and stares down at the covered face.

"John?" Matt says after a while. "You alright?"

John looks up. "Fine."

No emotion in that statement. Matt looks away and enters a nearby building. John looks back down at the corpse, once Matt is gone.

He doesn't move the sheet, doesn't kneel, pray, doesn't even drop his gun. John just stands there, staring down at the corpse with the orange plastic sheet draped over it. The face underneath. John can tell the corpse is looking at him.

There's a particularly strong wind and the sheet is blown back.

The man's face?

That is war.

A bullet through the face, below the left eye is what killed him. His left eye is red and black and more blood than eye, the original color would be unidentifiable if not for his right eye, blue. The cheek is gone entirely, torn away from the force of the bullet. His teeth, cracked and his tongue hanging out between them. His eyebrows are neat and arched and compliment his boyish appearance. Or they would. His nose is halved, the right side is immaculate and the left blends into the large hole that was this boy's cheek. His hair is pressed against his face with blood and there are little pieces of bone in his hair.

And his eyes. He just stares. The eyes are right at John. Like they've always looking at him.

It's like he is alive and he looks at John and he wants help and he can't talk because he's biting his own tongue and he wants to tell John that everything will be alright and how he's got to be brave and that he wants help and that he's dead and that there's no use crying about and how John should stop crying because he can't cry and John has to stop crying because he's not supposed to cry and John has to be strong and John shouldn't cry anymore because there was nothing he did and he's got to stop crying, there's no use and John has to stop crying, even though John couldn't protect him. He couldn't protect anybody.

John is not supposed to cry.

"John." Matt says from across the body. He quickly covers the corpse again but John can still feel his eyes. "John, stop crying man."

John just keeps looking back at the corpse and he sobs.

Matt places a hand on his shoulder. "John. I know. I understand."

There's a silence. The sound of death. The music played by the dead. The Symphony Mortis. A sound most familiar.

John takes a deep breath. Death has no hold on him. "Thanks, Matt."

Matt nods and leads John away from the corpses. Suddenly, John gets a transmission.

"_Lieutenant Shepard? Do you read?"_ John recognizes the voice of Commander Dunn.

John retains his military discipline and raises a hand to his ear. "Yes, Commander. Reading you loud and clear."

"_Thank God. Son… I wish we'd taken you with us, but the brass ordered us out. Son… I'm sorry to ask this of you. But I have a mission that I need you to do. You're the only person who can do this."_

"Sir?"

"_Lieutenant, the pirates battle fiercely for Illyria, but we're holding them back and we're steadily cutting down their numbers. But we've detected numerous drop ships entering orbit with a payload armor and reinforcements. The drop ships are leaving their payload just south of your position." John looks north, toward Illyria. "Son… you're all that stands between them and us. My men are stretched thin, to the point where we can't do a goddamn thing to help you. The pirates will converge on your location within the next 6 hours. We need you to do all you can to slow them down as much as possible so we have the time to wear down the pirate's numbers around the city and regroup. … Good luck, son. I'll see you on the other side."_

The transmission cuts and John lowers his arm and cradles his rifle.

"What was that about?" Matt asks John.

John thinks a second. "Urgent documents are needed in Illyria." John rushes into the main office and picks a random datapad off of the desk. He turns around and hands it to Matt. "I got orders from Dunn to have you deliver this to him. Confidential, his eyes only."

Matt frowns at the datapad. "But… what about you?"

"I'll hold this position." John smiles, a real one, this time. "Don't worry about me."

Matt reluctantly nods and gets a vehicle from the garage and starts to drive down the road to Illyria.

John gets to work.

* * *

**Later…**

John sits on the wall, holding a pack of cigarettes in one hand and his assault rifle against his shoulder. He'd never smoked before, never thought about it, had never really considered it. But he'd heard they're good for stressful situations.

John takes a cigarette out of the pack and places it between his lips. He then takes the rifle and fires until it overheats. John quickly presses the tip of the cigarette against the heat sink of the rifle and it lights.

John replaces the cigarette in between his lips and takes a drag. He breathes the smoke out and surprises himself when he doesn't cough. He sniffs and tastes the flavor. It tastes gross.

John reaches over and turns on the radio, switching it to the Alliance Comm channel.

"_Alliance Marines and Illyria civilians are standing strong! Do not falter! And we will not fall!"_ The radio roars at whoever is listening.

John takes another drag and puts the cigarette out on the ground. He gets to his feet and picks up the sniper rifle leaning against the wall next to him. He looks down the scope at the plume of dust in the distance. He checks the countdown timer on his omni-tool. 3 minutes left.

In the last 6 hours, John's fortified the outpost as best he could. He managed to repair the automated mortar and he jury-rigged the power coupling by the ridge, hopefully allowing him to use the outpost's countermeasures to his discretion. He'd laid down weapon emplacements in strategic locations around the outpost as well as barricaded the entrances and road. Not to mention the…

John frowns as he hears a distant mechanical humming.

John kneels and braces the sniper rifle against the edge of the wall. He looks down the scope at the line of vehicles just coming over the hill towards him. The first in the line is an open topped car with a mounted gun on the back.

John takes a deep breath and aims at the gunner leaning against the edge of the railing looking bored. He pulls the trigger and a spray of blood spurts from the gunner's head before he falls off the back of the car. His corpse is run over by the cars following and the driver of the lead car looks around alarmed.

John takes aim and shoots the driver in the neck just above his collarbone. He grabs his throat and the car swerves to the side off the road. The convoy starts to spread off road and move faster. Looks like they got the idea.

Not this one though. John ducks down and opens his omni-tool. He detonates the explosives he'd lined the road with and covers his ears.

There's a series of deafening explosions, 30 of them total. John crawls along the wall to the mounted gun nearby. He takes it and starts to fire at the cloud of smoke, not really looking for a target.

This whole time they haven't gotten one shot off at him.

"_Batarian ground forces are dwindling! Hold nothing back!"_ The radio yells.

Shell shocked pirates start stumbling out of the cloud of smoke and John immediately picks them off with a burst from the mounted gun.

Suddenly an armored APC shoots out of the cloud of smoke and the cannon on top starts to fire at John's position.

John ducks down and crawls over to the anti-armor Sub-Light Speed cannon that sits on the edge of the wall ready and waiting to be fired.

John gets into the gunner's seat and shoots the APC as it passes the outpost, splitting it in half and sending both pieces flying off the road only to burn in a huge cobalt blaze.

John gets out of the gunner seat and opens his omni-tool as he runs over to the mounted machine gun again. He sets the mortar that he'd repaired firing on the road and grabs the grips of the mounted gun again.

Then the dust from the explosions clear and hordes of pirates charge at the outpost like an army of insects. The mortar takes out small groups of them at random while John passes the line of bullets he's firing back and forth over the charging pirates.

When they're too close to the walls of the outpost. John momentarily activates the outpost's counter measures. Tall pylons shoot out of the ground around the outpost and arc walls of electricity between them, frying anyone trapped within them.

John then sees a missile flying at him from somewhere in the vast span of corpses and pirates. He dives out of the way and the missile hits the machine gun, destroying it.

John grabs a grenade launcher from the line of weapons sitting against the wall near him. He starts firing randomly at the pirates running at him. When he runs out of ammo he reloads the grenade launcher with the stack of grenade clips sitting next to him.

The pirates die by the dozens but they still charge.

"_Incoming Transmission: 'This is Gavin Ericsson of SSV Agincourt. We're coming to aid you, hold strong, Elysium!'"_ The radio relays the static clouded transmission.

John runs out of ammo completely and he drops the grenade launcher and picks up his assault rifle. He fires in bursts, picking off single pirates that make their way towards him. He activates the counter measures but something goes wrong, maybe they've malfunctioned, because they simple shoot out of the ground but no electricity arcs between them.

The pirates start making their way toward the outpost's open gate in the wall. John leaps from the wall and rolls as he hits the ground. Dirt gets scooped into his armor but he ignore it, and almost savors it's feel as he slides behind a wall of crates he stacked in front of the gate.

He takes the shotgun off his back and starts shooting the pirates as the get close. The shoot back but run at the same time so their aim is pretty much crap. John's shotgun overheats and he drops it and grabs another one that's sitting nearby in the crate of guns he'd placed there earlier.

He keeps fighting and the mortar keeps firing and the pirates keep charging.

Then the mortar malfunctions and John curses as it stops firing. But then he realizes that its automated targeting system just ran out of targets. Everyone is dead.

"_Pirate forces have disbanded! The battle is won!"_ The radio yells.

John stands slowly, his shotgun hot in his hands. The battle is won. John looks down at himself. His dark blue armor is scuffed, scratched, gouged, and covered in bullet holes. But he himself, other than a bullet graze where his forehead meets his scalp that he didn't notice until now, is uninjured. John touches the graze on the corner of his forehead, near his temple. He looks at his gloved hand and rubs the dark blood in between his fingers.

John drops his shotgun on the ground and he turns to walk back into the outpost. But a bullet strikes the back of his leg and pierces his armor. He grunts and curses and drops to his knee. He looks over his shoulder at the lone pirate, badly burned from napalm, a sniper rifle held in one hand. His right arm is nearly melted away and he drags his right foot behind him as he walks toward John.

He is a batarian.

John gets to his feet and climbs onto the short wall of crates that stands between him and the last pirate.

The pirate raises his rifle but John throws his hand up and hits the pirate with a biotic push that throws him off his feet. John tries to step off the top of the crates but a pain from his leg makes him stumble and fall onto his stomach. John gets to his feet and limps toward the prone batarian who is also starting to stand.

The batarian gets to his feet, hopping slightly on his good leg, using the rifle as a crutch. He raises it again.

John draws his pistol and shoots the batarian in the arm. The batarian gasps in pain and drops the rifle. John shoots him again in the stomach and again in the chest and in the neck and in the hip and in the shoulder and in the diaphragm and in the leg and the batarian falls gasping and coughing.

John walks up to him, still shooting the batarian all over. He stands over the body and shoots him in the stomach and in the chest and again in the neck a few times and finally in the face.

The batarian lies dead, blood dribbling from his wounds. He lies so still and John stares for a second. He drops his pistol onto the corpse and looks at where his face used to be and you can still see two of his eyes, the top two. They're open slightly and they look at John with the deadest stare he'd ever seen.

John breathes very quickly and he wheezes for breath. He realizes his chest plate which has been hit so much it concaved, is restricting his breathing. John turns around and starts to limp back to the outpost, stripping off his armor as he walks.

John reaches the wall of crates and he throws them out of the way and steps over some of the corpses that made it almost to him. John walks over and sits down, with his back against the mortar in the center of the outpost. John's uniform is covered in dirt and blood and he realizes he's more injured than he'd initially thought. Adrenaline will do that.

He has a gunshot wound through his left bicep, straight through. Another in the side of his abdomen, on the left most side of his body. There's another in his leg, where the last pirate shot him. And there's the bullet graze on his scalp.

John is thankful his armor auto-injects medi-gel into him as needed. He sighs and rests his head against the mortar and closes his eyes.

* * *

**Later…**

John feels someone shaking him. He opens his eyes with considerable effort.

"He's alive!" An unfamiliar voice, behind a bright light shouts. "Get a medic over here now!"

John blinks at the light.

"Hey man, don't go to sleep. Stay with me, Lieutenant." The voice says, shaking him more. "You fought off all these guys on your own? Damn you're a badass."

John smirks and closes his eyes.

"No! Open your eyes!" The light slaps him. "Open your eyes come on!" John feels hands on him, moving him around, laying him down. "You're a hero man. Don't you die now. Wake up!"

* * *

**End of Part 2…**

**A/N: Please take a break. Drink something. Blink, at least.**

* * *

**One Year Later…**

**Sole Survivor: Last Man Standing**

**10:43 AM May 4, 2177**

* * *

Highly decorated Class N5 1st Lieutenant John Shepard stands at the entrance to the colony at Akuze. The colony sits at the bottom of a deep valley that used to be home to a river, long since dried. So the ground here is very flat and hard and dry and the reddish dirt sticks to your boots. Since the Skyllian Blitz, since he got his Medal of Honor and his Star of Terra, and all those awards and all those commendations and all that recognition, the Alliance has been sending him from mission to mission, station to station.

Now at least they're giving him something easy. Or at least sort of easy. His mission was to find out what happened to a pioneer team that was setting up a colony here on Akuze. Now he knows.

The colony is completely destroyed, something just decimated it. Buildings are smashed to pieces or torn apart and some are even melted in places. The pioneer team is nowhere to be found and the ground in and around the colony is unusually soft for such a rocky planet. Not to mention the massive crater in the center of the colony.

Something doesn't sit right with John.

"Shepard, Cervantes, Toombs! Get over here." Commander Dunn calls as he walks out of a mostly intact building while removing his helmet. The battles he's been in have had their wear on him. His hair is grey despite only being 40 years old. His face is wrinkled and defies his actual age. He has a scar across his nose as well as many smaller ones over his face. Yet he is still the strongest man John has ever met.

"Sir, something's weird here." Sergeant Matt Cervantes points out the obvious.

Dunn frowns. "Son, I should promote you to captain."

"Huh? Really?" Matt smiles excited.

Dunn nods. "Yeah, Captain Obvious."

"Bravo. You actually got my hopes up." Matt applauds sarcastically while John and Toombs laugh.

"Sir, what did you find?" Corporal Chris Toombs asks. "Anything?"

Dunn shakes his head. "Nothing. I have no clue what happened here."

"Could it have been attacked by pirates, sir?" John asks.

Dunn shakes his head again. "Not likely. There're no signs of explosives being used, and I 'm not sure what else could take these buildings apart."

"What about the crater?" Chris asks. "Maybe… I don't know… maybe a meteor?"

"That's stupid, but plausible. Though I don't think so." Dunn looks at the crater and points to the destroyed buildings around it. "See how the buildings are around the crater? If it was a meteor they would be blown out away from the crater."

"Well what could it be?" Matt asks rhetorically.

Dunn shrugs and starts walking back to one of the two M35 Makos. "Don't know… honestly? I'm not sure I really want to know. We were ordered to find out what happened to the pioneer team and we know they were wiped out. Now let's get out of here. We need to get back to the rendezvous point 9 clicks south of here."

He felt uneasy about all of this, but on some level John was glad to be out of here. It spooked him.

John climbs into a Mako with Matt and 3 others. John climbs up to the front seat and starts the Mako. He waits for Dunn's Mako to get going, he then starts following it south towards the rendezvous point with the ship.

John loses himself in his thoughts. Recently he'd met someone he couldn't really stop thinking about. And it confused him. A few weeks ago, a new bunch of marines were assigned to his unit. One caught his eye immediately. She was shorter than the others, only slightly though. Her hair was brown and long and always immaculate and she had green eyes and bronzed olive toned skin, full attractive lips and a slender figure. Something about her caught his eye. Was it her looks? No, something else. That defiant look she gave when given an order. Like she wanted to tell the superior person that she'd surpass them. Then who'd be laughing?

The path in front of him is completely flat and rusty brown sediment is kicked up into his windshield by the leading Mako but John could still easily see where he needed to go.

John was too nervous to talk to her. She came to talk to him once, to talk to him about him. She talked about how she knew who he was and she talked about how she admired him and how he was a hero and how she had watched the award ceremony when he got his Star of Terra and about how she wanted to hear everything he had to say. And all he could do was ask about her. This bored her, so she left and he hadn't talked to her since. This was just a few days ago. She's probably sitting up in the ship, bored to death.

John sighs and clears his windshield of red dust again. He checks the distance now, only about 3 clicks away.

He hadn't forgotten her name, though. Sofia. She has a name you can taste when you say it. Sofia. You can taste it on your tongue and on the roof of your mouth like a fine wine even after you've said it. Sofia. Sweet like cookies and jam. Sofia.

"John! Look out!"

John sees something that looks like a huge blue pipe of some sort in the path of his Mako. John hits the jump thruster jets and his Mako leaps over the piping. From his place in the sky, John sees Dunn's Mako swerving in between other piping that just appears out of the ground. Now John can see the piping is moving. It's actually some kind of huge earthworm.

The Mako hits the ground and the strong suspension and shocks on it make the landing very gentle for the occupants.

"What the fuck is going on?!" One of the marines screams.

"Get on the fucking turret!" Matt screams at him from the passenger seat next to John.

John doesn't look away from where he's going. But he's gotten so turned around with swerving that he doesn't know where he is or where Dunn is. Suddenly something hits the side of the Mako which sends it rolling to the side. John spins the wheel trying to get it in control. And the Mako rights itself, settling on all six wheels again.

"Gun it! Go, go, go!" Matt screams from the seat next to him.

John goes petal to the metal and starts swerving out of the way of the huge worms.

Suddenly, a section of one appears right in front of him through the dust. John instinctively hits the jump thrusters and his Mako flies straight into the air.

Just when he expects the descent the Mako rumbles and stops. It tilts and spins around and all the occupants and tossed around in their seats. The Mako abruptly starts to plummet toward the ground, faster than is possible of its own gravity. One of the creatures has a hold on the Mako.

It hits the ground back first and John hits the back of his chair hard. He winces and opens his eyes. His eyes widen at what he sees. A hideous creature, like a huge worm with tentacles and talons like a praying mantis and a huge maw. It hovers above the ground, high in the sky above them. And through the cracked, dusty windshield, John can see a hunger in its bioluminescent form.

And then it lunges at the Mako, its great maw stretching even wider and a huge tentacle like tongue stretching out of its throat. John screams and raises his hands in horror. The thing swallows the front of the Mako but it cannot eat the rest .

The walls around John start to sizzle and drips of viscous saliva seep through the quadruple armor plating. Then the talons of the creature pierce the center of the Mako, behind John and it tries to tear it in half to consume. All John can do is grit his teeth and hold tight onto his seat.

The creature then pulls the Mako out of its mouth and throws it onto the ground. And with a deafening boom, John is knocked unconscious as a piece of the Mako strikes his head.

* * *

**Later…**

John blinks his eyes open and he stares at the inside of his helmet. The visor is shattered and he can smell the air outside, telling him there's a breach in his helmet. He smells blood and dirt and electricity.

John coughs and tugs his helmet off his head. It comes off in pieces and a few hang off his back from an air tube attached to his armor. John coughs again, more roughly this time and tastes blood. He looks around to try to find where he is.

He is still strapped in his seat, but it's far from its proper place and he lies on his side near a hole in some unrecognizable part of the Mako. The hole is blocked by a marine's corpse, impaled through several pieces of distended metal. To his right, a dead marine stares back at him. John looks to his left and finds only Akuze dirt. The Mako must've been torn in half when it hit the ground. Outside is silent.

Then it suddenly isn't. "Help! No!"

John's eyes shoot up at the hole in the Mako. Past it he can see a huge crater, out of it, the glowing tentacle like tongue of the worm beast licks the edge of the crater.

Corporal Chris Toombs struggles in vain as he is dragged by the tongue toward the crater. "No! Help me!"

John tries to get up but he remembers he's strapped in. That's when he notices and feels the long metal pipe that impales him. It passes through the fastening device, making it impossible to unstrap, and it passes straight through him into the backrest of the seat. John gasps and grabs the slippery bloody pipe.

He looks up at Chris Toombs, who is not alone. He sees Matt Cervantes holding his hands and trying to pull him out of the beasts grip. And he sees Commander Dunn shooting the tongue with an assault rifle.

Then John has to watch as the head of the creature bursts from the crater. It whips its tongue, throwing Matt to the side and knocking Dunn off to another. It raises its praying mantis like talon and stabs Matt. The talon drives itself into the ground and it lifts out. Matt stays on it, blood spraying down the talon. The talon nearly spans his whole torso, mid chest to lower abdomen it nearly splits him in half. At least he died quickly.

Unlike Dunn.

John watches in horror as Dunn is covered with a huge glob of the creature's acidic saliva. The viscous saliva pours over him and has a texture like some gelatinous goop so it covers him from head to toe. The saliva starts to smoke and sizzle and John can still hear Dunn through that coating of spit.

Dunn howls in pure agony as he is eaten away from every inch on his body. From the soles of his feet to the tips of his fingers to the hairs on his head. Dunn is melted. And he doesn't stop screaming until the acid pours into his bloody empty eye sockets, long after his skin has melted off.

Dunn's corpse, so horribly destroyed, collapses to the ground.

Toombs screams in sorrow. John struggles against the straps and the pipe and the pain to help his friend.

The creature howls and straightens its huge form, swinging Toombs straight into the air and keeping a hold on him still with its massive tongue. It shakes Matt's corpse off its talon, making it fall into pieces and fall to the ground.

Toombs screams one last time. "Someone!" John can even hear him from this great distance. "Please! Help-"

His terrified voice disappears into the earth. And Akuze is silent.

John can hear his own breath. He's breathing so fast. He has to get to the rendezvous point. Warn the ship. Tell them what happened.

John looks down at the pipe in the seat. He doesn't know how the hell he's going to get out of this. He has but one idea.

John takes his side arm and with a shaking hand presses it against the bar, near to his stomach. John fires a shot and it pierces the pipe. But the vibrations caused by the bullet hitting the pipe and going through it makes it so excruciating John gasps in pain and coughs some blood.

John grits his teeth and shoots the pipe again. This time it was even more excruciating. John howls in pain and cries slightly.

He looks down at the pipe. "Just one more. Come on John."

John shoots the last bit of pipe off it and it wasn't nearly as bad as the last two times.

John grabs the top half, the half still attached to the ceiling, and he bends the long pipe out of the way. He grabs the small bit poking out of his stomach and tries to pry it out. But the blood on it makes his hands slip. John scowls and grabs the fastening device of the seat and he lifts that off the piece of pipe instead. He tears it in half and takes the straps off himself. John then lifts himself off the pipe and rolls away from the pipe. He joins the corpses next to him, resting a hand over his back and his head on his shoulder.

John pants and coughs and wipes his mouth. He looks up at the corpse and pats it on the back. "Sorry about that. I'll come back for you."

He crawls over to the hole. He won't be able to move this with his own strength. John builds up what strength he's got and uses his biotics to clear the hole of the corpse and the pieces of metal.

John crawls out of the hole and he gets to his feet slowly. He can hear the wind whipping over the valley floor. But everything else is silent.

John closes his eyes and bows his head.

Nothing can go right for him. Can it?

John starts to stumble toward the rendezvous point, but he hears something. Someone.

"John… God, help me." John looks over slowly at the marine lying next to the other half of the Mako. He raises his arm to John and John can see his armor is practically torn to pieces.

John hobbles over to him and kneels next to him. John flips him over onto his back and takes his helmet off. The marine's torso is cut badly, and his lungs are likely filling with blood.

"Liang, you're going to be alright. Ted! Open your damn eyes!"

Specialist Ted Liang opens his eyes and coughs out a mouthful of blood. "John. John… it's so… so beautiful. I wish you could see it."

John blinks tears from his eyes. "Dammit Ted! You stay with me! I'm getting you help!"

John scoops Ted Liang in his arms and starts to carry him south toward the rendezvous, less than a kilometer away. John's body screams in protest, pain from everywhere. But Ted is dying.

John struggles faster, jogging, somehow the distance to the rendezvous point. He feels blood flowing down his stomach into his pants and boots but he keeps going, pain driving him now, knowing that if he can get there that he can stop and rest and the pain can stop.

John gets to the rendezvous point, marked with a tall signal beacon.

John places Ted gently on the ground and activates the beacon and a bright light flashes at its peak.

John gets down to his knees next to Ted Liang, who stares at the sky.

"John…" Tears flow down his cheeks and mix with the blood on his face. "John, it's right there John." Ted Liang points at the sky. "John it's so beautiful. It's so quiet and so peaceful. So beautiful. Can you see it John?"

Every ounce of struggle is out of Ted's voice. He's truly found his end.

John shakes his head. "What're you talking about Ted?"

"It's right there John." Ted Liang points at the sky, at nothing. "John it's right there. It's so beautiful."

"Where Ted?" John looks up. "Where is it?"

Ted Liang points again, for a second before lowering his arm again. He points at a star. That's when John remembers a conversation he had with Commander Dunn at this very spot.

"_John."_ _Dunn points at the starry sky._ _"Can you tell me which one that one is John?"_

_John looks at the star he's pointing at. John shrugs and shakes his head._

_Dunn smiles a wrinkly tired smile. "That's the Sol system. Earth, John. Home."_

_That's when Dunn looked his youngest._

"_That's not home to me, sir." John says._

"John…" Ted's tears flow like rivers into oceans of blood. "I'm going home, John."

John feels the wind kick up around him and he can hear a humming and a bright light shines from above.

John feels tears build up in his eyes again. "Ted, don't go. I can't lose everyone. I don't want to be alone again. Don't! Ted! Don't leave me here alone!"

Ted smiles a smile so small it shows more in his eyes than on his face. "You're not alone John. You'll never be alone. I'm going home John. I'm… I'm finally going… home."

Ted smiles a true and real smile. And he dies, with a smile eternally in his dead eyes and on his dead lips. Utter bliss in his last moments.

Comes with dying, sometimes. And in John's opinion? It's worse to watch.

"Lieutenant! John!" He recognizes the voice, the ship's skipper. "Lieutenant! What happened."

John stands, holding Ted Liang, the man who died happy. John walks with the corpse in his arms, toward the ship. The skipper stares at him, horrified at what happened.

John stops next to him and looks at him. The skipper's eyes go wide. For all the time 1st Lieutenant John Shepard had been on this ship, no one knew him or what he'd really been through. But that look he just gave the skipper, expressed exactly what John felt. Tired.

John shakes his head and sighs. "They're dead, skipper. All of them."

"What happened?" The skipper asks horrified.

"I don't know sir." John places the corpse of Ted Liang on the edge of the ramp to the ship. "But I'm all that's left."

John drops to his knees and bangs the edge of his head on the edge of the ramp and he screams. He pounds on the red and brown earth with bloody gloved fists and he screams.

He screams for everyone, for everything.

John starts to sob and he is fully aware of the ring of people around him. He feels hands on his shoulders they pull him to his feet and take him inside, away from eyes. John's head bowed and his sobs uncontrollable. He gasps out words, spelling a poem of death and blood and horrors.

The hands lead him into a dark room, the crew quarters. They take him to a corner and John collapses, still sobbing. He didn't want to walk anymore.

The hands cradle him and hug him and shush him and try to comfort him. But John keeps crying and he struggles out of the hugs and the arms and he ignores the comfort. He wants to hurt to feel that pain that driving pain.

The hands lift his chin and John sees the defiant green eyes of Sofia. Of course it would be her, to see the hero in his weakest moment. Sofia pulls John into her, pulling his face into her breast, like a child. She has to take his hands and wrap them around her and she has to hold him because he doesn't hold back.

"John, don't cry."

John feels rage then. He throws her off of him. "No! Fuck you!"

He destroys a metal table with biotic blows. He ruins the bunks with his bare hands and biotic power. He strips panels off the walls with sheer power, and any glass in the room shatters and the floor panels crumple like old paper and the lights explode and John squeezes his hands into fists so hard that blood floats out into the force field of negated gravity. And he screams so loud. He howls with rage and power and fear and sorrow and grief.

"John!" John's glowing fiery blue eyes shoot at Sofia. She is huddled in the corner, protecting her head, eyes defiant. "Stop!"

John's fire of rage, the color of the biotics that tear the room apart, the fire that burns him that tears him apart, dies into embers.

John, the man whose world fell silent, collapses and dreams of his home. Mindoir. The world that burned.

* * *

**End of Part 3…**

**A/N: Phew… What a dose of emotion that one was. Please take a break. Drink some tea in front of a fireplace on a cold night. Feels awesome. Take a walk on a rainy day while listening to the saddest songs you got. Feels great. Take a break however you know best how. Please, for your own health!**

* * *

**One Year Later…**

**3:14 PM November 18, 2178**

**Ruthless: Caverns of Blood**

* * *

The drop ship rumbles and rattles.

Highly decorated and recently reinstated Class N6 1st Lieutenant John Shepard sits with his head bowed and his eyes closed and with his rifle collapsed and standing in between his legs. The drop ship shakes violently and one of the 55 other people in the drop ship pukes into a bag making the room, which already smelled of hot metal and sweat, smell like sick.

This is the Alliance's revenge for the Skyllian Blitz. And it is John's revenge for Mindoir.

This is the Siege of Torfan.

Ten battalions, each separated into 1,000 contingents, each of 52 men, with each contingent separated into 26 pairs of teams, labeled with a letter of the phonetic alphabet, attack this sector of the moon of Torfan. The batarian-pirate forces are dug in deep in subterranean bunkers covering the moon. There's a huge mass accelerator missile base in the middle of the moon, all the tunnels lead there, with a few caverns here and there. That's where everyone is headed. The plan is for the teams to drive the batarians back through their own tunnels to the missile base where they can be easily bottle necked and eradicated.

Major Kyle has ordered a take-no-prisoner's initiative. That sits just fine with John.

"When we hit the ground!" Major Kyle shouts over the roar from the drop ship as it enters the thin atmosphere of Torphan's 3rd moon. "We storm the tunnels! Stick to your pairings! Remember your training! And you will survive! Keep in constant radio contact! The batarians have home front advantage! That does not mean they will win! They're untrained, poorly equipped criminals! We have the advantage!"

What advantage? John squeezes his eyes tighter as his brow furrows further into a scowl. He's seen the intel reports. His N6 rank and security clearance got him a firsthand look at them. Here's what they know: Nothing. Alliance Intel has no precise estimate on the number of hostiles. They have only a rough, rudimentary layout of the tunnel system. And they have no limit in the funding for this mission. And this is why they can afford to throw 52,000 men at a bunch of batarian criminals. Criminals backed and supplied by the batarian government. The grunts don't know that. They're going in expecting no resistance, acting as some sort of glorified galactic police. John expects no quarter, no surrender, and no mercy. He will offer none in return.

A hand grabs John's hand and pulls it away from his rifle. His partner in the battle, Sofia, stares up at the ceiling, not looking at John. Her defiant eyes shine bright and defiant of fear behind her helmet. John's general stoic expression softens a bit and he gently squeezes her hand. She squeezes back, much tighter.

John looks back down at the metal grated floor of the drop ship. Was he ready for this? More death?

This was the Battle of Torfan. This was real war. Was he ready for this?

"_John."_ Sofia's voice says through a channel they'd set up to communicate with each other and each other only, her hand shaking his a little to get his attention. _"John, are you okay?"_

John looks at her. _"Fine."_

The yellow tinted visor of her helmet makes her eyes look even greener somehow. _"Are you sure? I mean you've only been back 2 weeks."_

John blinks at her. _"I'm cleared for duty."_

Sofia shakes her head. _"So says the doctor. Did you clear yourself? That's most important. PTSD is a hard thing to overcome, many don't overcome it at all. You're back within a year. I'm not so sure John. After what you've been through?"_

"_I can push through it." _John responds, frowning at her.

She shakes her head._ "You always say that. Can you push through this? I was there, there with you when you were pushed past you limit. It's an ugly sight, John. I just want to make sure you're ready for this."_

"_It's too late now." _He responds, looking away from her.

"_No, it's not. You've had time to recover but not nearly enough. You fell and you fell hard. You can't deny that." _Sofia shakes his limp hand to get his attention again.

He looks back at her, his face still stoic.

"_John, you never talked to me about it." _Sofia narrows her eyes at him. John takes a sharp breath. Her eyes, how can she get them to say so much? That she won't accept no for an answer.

"_I don't talk about it." _John responds. _"I can't."_

"_Why? Why did that make you go down so hard?" _Sofia asks almost angrily.

John looks down at the barrel of his rifle. He blinks and furrows his brow.

"_John. Let go of my hand, you're hurting me."_

He lets go of Sofia's hand immediately. And places it back on the rifle.

"_John?"_ Sofia says after a moment. _"John, you need to be brave."_

He looks up at her. She makes him so angry sometimes. He loves her so much, why can't she see that he doesn't _want_ her to think he's weak. But she knows he's weak.

John shakes his head. _"That's no question. Don't slow me down."_

Sofia places a hand on his knee. He can't feel it because of his armor. John takes the hand and throws it off of his knee.

"_Leave me alone. Just follow my lead."_ John mumbles before turning back to his contingent's channel.

The red light illuminating the cabin of the drop ship switches to yellow.

Major Kyle gets to his feet. "Alright! This is it! When that light turns green, we're going to hit the ground in 10 seconds. The second it turns blue, you're out the door! Get me?"

"We get you sir!" The entire squad shouts in unison based on muscle memory.

The yellow light switches to green and Kyle sits back down and latches himself in.

"This is it! Brace yourselves! We're hitting the ground in 4, 3, 2, 1-" As if on cue there's a deafening boom from outside the drop ship and it jerks, jolts and shakes violently. The guy who puked earlier pukes again but all over the ground and his armor. There's a hideous screeching and then another boom and all shaking stops.

John feels his restraints release. He stands and readies his weapon and stands in line.

The green light changes to blue and the door to the drop ship falls open and the marines are bathed in a bright white greyish light.

They start charging out of the pod and John quickly follows.

He finds himself on the surface of Torfan, the grey moon full of holes. Many other drop ships litter the cratered expanse around him and the marines carried within charge toward some holes marked with flashing red and green lights.

There's one directly in front of their drop ship, not 10 yards away. John charges at it and Sofia is right beside him. They run into the large tunnel and are bathed in darkness. He and Sofia activate their shoulder mounted armor lights and the hall is illuminated by numerous Alliance soldiers walking around slowly with their weapons ready.

The squad comes to a split in the tunnel and everyone stops. Major Kyle runs up and looks left and right.

"You two… and… you two." Kyle says pointing out two pairs of people then pointing at the left tunnel. "Go down that path and radio back."

The two teams start running down that path and they make it no more than 20 yards before there's a huge explosion right at their feet and the tunnel starts to collapse over their heads. The collapsing ceiling starts to move towards them.

"Move! Fall back!" Kyle roars and the teams fall back toward the tunnel entrance.

John grabs Sofia's hand and drags her down the right tunnel just in time. If she had tried to fall back with Major Kyle, she would've been crushed like a few other marines.

John drags her down the tunnel and they sprint away from the collapsing ceiling. John sprints as fast as he can and Sofia runs right next to him. He doesn't stop running and he feels huge chunks of the ceiling falling behind him. Finally the rumbling and earth shaking stops and the ceiling stops collapsing.

John slows down and leans against his knees panting heavily, Sofia mirroring him.

"Damn that was close." Sofia says breathless.

John just nods and breathes heavily.

"_Teams, sound off!"_ Major Kyle's static clouded voice says through the comm. _"Alpha Team is full and accounted for."_

"Team Uniform is all together." John says when his letter in the alphabet comes around. The problem is that teams Charlie, Hotel, Golf, November, Papa, X-Ray, and Zulu are all unaccounted for.

That's 14 marines dead or missing. There's 19 teams of two left. 38 marines left.

"_Is that it? That's everyone we have left?! We've been on the ground 20 goddamn minutes!"_ There's a slight pause. _"Wait, where's Team Uniform?"_

"We didn't fall back to the entrance we went down the right tunnel." Sofia responds.

"_Good."_ Kyle says sounding relieved. _"Uniform, I need you to find an alternate entrance to the surface nearby. Send us the coordinates and we'll meet you there."_

"Aye, aye Major." Sofia responds, shutting off her comm. "John, you heard what we need to do?"

John nods and straightens. "Let's move, be wary of traps."

Sofia and John start walking down the dark tunnel. They can see a light at the end but it's impossible to tell how far away it is exactly.

"Wait." John whispers. "Shut off your light. If we want any chance of survival we need the element of surprise.

Sofia nods and shuts off her armor light. She places her hand on John's shoulder to ensure that they don't get separated. She draws her pistol and points it forward, and John does the same with his assault rifle.

He leads her down the hall, taking careful low steps to feel out any obstacles.

But they get to the end of the tunnel without a problem and the light seems to come from around a bend. There're voices around the corner. John stops Sofia by placing a hand against her stomach. He presses his back against the wall and he leans around the corner to look carefully.

John sees a squad of batarians formed up with their commander pacing in front of them.

"Take no prisoners!" The batarian commander yells. "This is not Mindoir! This is not Theara! This is not Yanthau! We're Black Bind! We're shooting to kill."

John's eyes are wide. He recognizes their armor, black with red chains painted on it. John's breathing becomes harsh and angry.

"John?" Sofia whispers. "John are you-"

John roars and spins around the corner. He sweeps his assault rifle across the room with one arm while holding the trigger. At the same time he's throwing his left arm back for a biotic attack. And simultaneous to all this, he's leaping over a desk to attack his enemies.

John lands with a roll. He stops on a knee, his biotic attack ready. He slams his fist into the ground and there's a biotic explosion the throws the batarian slavers every which way.

John rolls again and shoulders his rifle. He fills a single batarian with a full tempered burst from his assault rifle. He tosses the rifle aside and draws his pistol he shoots three others in the head. The commander of the squad is getting to his feet. John charges and rams his shoulder into the commander's torso, slamming him into the wall with enough force to shatter bone. John smashes the commander's face with the bottom of the pistol. He feels hands grab him and throw him back.

John stumbles, falls and does a backwards roll and faces his new enemy, another batarian. He charges at the batarian who is raising a shotgun at him. John ducks under the shotgun just as it fires. Some of the shot hits the top of his helmet but John ignores it. He grabs the underside of the gun and pulls it over his shoulder. He reaches his other arm over and grabs the batarian's arm.

John then pulls the batarian off his feet and flips him over his shoulder. John keeps a solid grip on the shotgun the whole time and he manages to wrench it out of the slavers grip. John tosses the shotgun aside and grabs the batarian's collar. He bends down and punches the batarian. Seeing the effect his armored knuckles have, John hits him again. John smiles for the first time in over a year and hits him again.

There's a loud gunshot from behind him and someone falls on John's back. John instinctively flips sideways, landing on top of the attacker. John rolls straight to his feet but realizes the final batarian is dead already. He looks over his shoulder at Sofia who has her shotgun out.

She looks at him, eyes furious and defiant behind her visor. John's growls. He picks his pistol back up and shoots the coughing batarian he was hitting in the face.

John removes his helmet which is damaged and useless now. He tosses it aside and grabs his assault rifle. He starts to continue down the tunnel.

Sofia catches up to him, her helmet now off, her hair immaculate. "John! What the fuck was that?!"

John glares at her. "Initiative. What do you want from me?"

"A goddamn explanation! That was downright stupid! Why did you attack 7 armed batarians alone! John!" Sofia grabs his shoulder to stop him.

John spins around and pushes her against the wall, slamming his fist into the wall next to her head. Pieces of moon rock break under his fist and fall onto her shoulder. Sofia looks at him, eyes confident and defiant as they stare into his.

"They were there." John says his voice filled with a tone that is hate incarnate. "On Mindoir. They were part of the gang that killed my family and burned my home. They did such horrible things. They killed everyone. The ones they didn't kill they took. Mindoir was never the same because of it."

Sofia shakes her head. "John, you can't let this cloud your judgment. I know you're angry. I know you're hurting. Remember Elysium and the Skyllian Blitz! How you let nothing hold you back, not even your emotions or your feelings. That's a true leader, John. Someone who can look at the bigger picture. You need to do this, complete this mission for all the marines fighting and dying here, not for you. Do it for the greater good."

John breathes away his anger through his nose. "You're right. I'm sorry. Thank you."

Sofia smiles at him. "Don't mention it."

She then slaps him across the face. He looks at her shocked.

"That was for being stupid. Now let's go."

John's face softens and he starts to walk with Sofia again down the tunnel. This tunnel is thankfully lit by lights strung on the ceiling.

They reach another bend. John holds up a fist and Sofia stops.

John peeks around the corner. It leads directly to another bend. John quickly rushes to it and peeks around that corner. There's another long tunnel, with one nearby that connects to the surface.

John turns on his comm. "Major Kyle! Major Kyle, this is Team Uniform, we found an alternate entrance."

"_Thank God, Lieutenant!"_ Major Kyle responds. John can clearly hear heavy gunfire in the background. _"We're under heavy assault from batarian pirate forces! We've lost Teams Juliet, Tango, and Lima and half of Sierra!"_

Another 3 teams. Another 7 marines. 16 teams left. 31 marines with them.

"We're sending you the coordinates, Major." Sofia says opening her omni-tool.

"Sir, do you want us to help you guys out?" John asks him.

"_No, keep going! We need to makes some goddamn headway here! We've still got a kilometer of tunnels to cover before we hit the missile base! Uniform, keep going! We'll catch up!"_

"Roger." John turns off his comm and turns to Sofia. "Ready? We have a lot of ground to cover.

She nods and together they jog down the tunnel.

* * *

**Later…**

John combat rolls into cover and immediately he blind fires over cover at the cadre of batarian pirates, some armored in Black Bind armor. Sofia uses the suppressing fire he lays down to move forward to cover behind a crate across the hall. They've been fighting like this for hours and still no sign of Major Kyle. John pokes out of cover and kills two more batarians with bursts from his assault rifle.

Sofia leans out from behind the crate and shoots a batarian with her shotgun. She then rolls and stops on a knee and shoots another then. She rolls again and stops behind cover next to John.

"Shit, John!" She says breathless. "I'm exhausted. I don't know how much longer I can keep up!"

John shakes his head. "I still can't get in touch with Kyle!"

Sofia curses and shoots another batarian with her shotgun. The last three start to retreat down the tunnel.

John runs up to the entrance of it and throws a powerful biotic shockwave down toward them.

The shockwave tosses them off their feet and they all land on their stomachs or faces.

Sofia sprints forward and shoots one in the back of the head. John rushes forward and snaps his neck. The third batarian is already dead, likely from the shockwave. John goes back into the other tunnel and sits on a crate. Sofia joins him.

John takes his military issued energy drink and takes a long drink he hands it to Sofia who drinks it as well. She lowers the canteen with a sigh and hands it back to him.

John replaces it on his belt and he turns his comm on again. "Major Kyle, come in… Major Kyle, this is Team Uniform, come in… Major Kyle we are almost to the missile base… Major Kyle, sir, come in."

There's still no response so John sighs and turns the speaker off to preserve battery life.

Sofia nudges his arm after a moment of silence. "Hey."

He looks at her. "What?"

Sofia smiles. "Cheer up, we're almost done. And look!" She gestures to the room around them. "No major injuries. And we're almost to the missile base."

John shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

There's suddenly some sound from the tunnel they came from. John leaps to his feet and points his assault rifle down towards the darkness. Sofia kneels next to him with her shotgun pointed down the tunnel as well.

They can see 5 bobbing lights making their way down the hall toward them. They reach the light of the small cavern Shepard and John are in.

John breathes a sigh of relief when he sees they're Alliance marines from his contingent.

They freeze in place and raise their weapons but almost immediately lower them.

"John! Sofia!" One marine, Corporal Steven Yeung says enthusiastically. "Jesus it's good to see you two."

"Steven!" Sofia hugs him. "Guys where's everyone else?"

"All dead." Sergeant Tom Opus says with a shake of his head. "We're all that's left."

"Even Major Kyle?" John asks horrified.

Another marine, Private First Class Talia Simone shakes her head. "No, he… he couldn't handle all the deaths under his command. He broke down and ran off into the tunnels. We've lost contact."

John shakes his head in disbelief. Major Kyle was such a steely leader and such a strong biotic. How could this happen.

Of all 26 teams, all 52 men, it has been reduced to 7 marines.

"John, sorry but you're the highest ranking member here." Opus says with a pat on his shoulder.

John sighs. "Teams, sound off. Team Uniform is all together."

Simone and Yeung stand side by side. "Team Foxtrot holding together."

Opus and Specialist Jason Alderman stand next to each other. "Team Oscar, all accounted for.

Then the lone marine removes his helmet. He looks so tired. "Master Sergeant Jack Jenson, of Team Sierra. Reporting."

Opus pats him on the back and Jensen tosses his helmet aside.

John takes a deep breath. "Alright. Jensen and Foxtrot I want you to scout ahead in that tunnel." John points with is rifle. "Oscar head back and find a good place to get a signal, we need to report our progress… and out losses. Uniform will search this area for useful supplies."

The teams split, Foxtrot and the last of Sierra moving down the tunnel toward their objective, Oscar heading back to find signal.

Sofia and John start rummaging through crates, looking for supplies. John manages to fine several grenades and a powerful thermite based plastic explosive. John takes this ordinance and puts it on his belt and he sits on the ground. Sofia turns to him and she throws up her arms.

"Nothing… I see you found some heavy ordinance." She sits next to him and leans her head against the crate.

John shrugs. "We probably won't even end up using it. Too dangerous in here. But I couldn't hurt, right?"

She nods but remains otherwise silent.

After a short restful silence John looks over at Sofia who is look at him.

"Can I ask you something, John?"

He nods.

"Were you scared? Going into this mission?"

John thinks for a moment. "No. I was angry."

Sofia looks away and nods. "I was scared. This is my first active engagement."

"You're handling yourself damn well." John compliments.

Sofia smiles humorously. "Thanks, I think… What's it like? Being you?"

John frowns. "I don't get what you mean?"

"What's it like being a hero? Being a legend?" She looks at him.

"Legend?"

She nods. "Yeah. You're legendary. You're the man who killed 300 hundred plus batarians at Elysium. And those are the confirmed kills. You're the man who thresher maws can't kill. You're 1st Lieutenant John Shepard. Badass."

John sniffs. "I don't like it."

"Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. How would you like to be described like that every time someone says your name? It sucks. I grew up on a farm; my ambitions were never really set to fame. This all just kind of happened. And it was all horrible." He looks at her. "They call me, 'hero'. I call me, 'mass murderer.'"

"You don't have to be so black and white about it."

"There are too many shades of grey."

Sofia smiles. "I like you, John."

"Thanks." He mumbles, staring blankly at the wall.

She smiles and turns his head to look at her. "Oh farm boy. Just shut up."

John frowns.

She kisses him. He can taste her now. Taste what Sofia really tastes like. Sweet like cookies and jam.

There's suddenly a shout of alarm. John's eyes snap to the tunnel that leads to the missile base. Jensen sprints out of it and gunfire follows him. He dives behind a crate and John and Sofia join him.

"Jensen! What happened?" John yells at him over the gunfire.

Jensen looks at him horrified. "John, they-" He stops himself and takes a breath and swallows. "We found some slavers and they spotted us! One yelled something about 'Thralls' and a bunch of these people: humans, asari, a few turians, they ran out of these disgusting cages at us. Screaming… God they were screaming. Yeung went down and I don't know about Simone I just ran. I-"

There's suddenly a screaming of horror and the gunfire ceases. John and Sofia rise up and see Simone run into the room with something attached to her back.

It's a hideously emaciated man, wearing shabby clothing. He's got metal apparatus grafted to him in all kinds of manners but the significant one seems to be the large bomb on his back.

"Get him off! Get him-" Simone and the emaciated man vanish in a red haze with a loud boom and a cloud of dust.

John's eyes are wide. Then out of the dark tunnel a woman, approximately his age maybe, comes out of the darkness. She's filthy, wearing shabby clothing, and hideously emaciated.

Her head is shaved and John can see a metal frame work and tubing coming from her skull. John recognizes it immediately.

It's the Black Bind's unique form of mind control and assimilation. Violent cranial implants they drill into you. It forces you to obey. They used them on Mindoir. He'd seen a lot of them in the main colony while he was leading the fight against the slavers.

John's heart falls from his chest. Could it be possible?

No, it's not possible.

John steps over the crates and Sofia's protests are muffled with memory as he approaches the indoctrinated woman.

He stops in front of her. "Suzy? Suzy Townsend?"

She smiles at him. Such a familiar smile. So innocent. 6 years. It's been 6 long years. How had any people from Mindoir survived that long under the batarian's control. Look at what they did to her.

God… Those monsters.

Suzy lunges forward and bites John on the neck and she tries jamming a knife into his armored belly but she's too weak to push it in through his armor. Even so, he still stares slack jawed and horrified at the dark in front of him.

Then Suzy's head explodes from a gunshot. From whose side? John doesn't care. Her blood covers his face and torso.

John feels that rush in him again. That hate, that anger. John roars and charges into the dark.

"John!" Sofia curses and chases after him. "Goddammit, not again."

A batarian Black Bind slaver shoots John a few times with a pistol as he charges but John's shield absorbs the damage.

John jumps and drop kicks him in the face and the batarian flies backwards over the railing and into the incredibly deep pit of the multi-tiered cylindrical missile tube. John draws his pistol and grabs the fallen slaver's discarded pistol from the ground.

He wields one in each hand shooting in opposite directions at the batarians and thralls running at him.

He rolls onto his side and fires both pistols akimbo at one hall. He rolls over and shoots at the other. He then spins around, rising into a stand without using his hands at all. He just keeps shooting.

A thrall, he'd missed somehow, jumps onto John's back and starts beating him.

John quickly forms and explodes a biotic barrier and the thrall is launched into a wall. He bounces off of it and into the missile pit.

John drops the overheated pistols and starts throwing waves of biotics at his enemies. He takes out his shotgun and shoots a few slavers before his gun overheats. He uses a preloaded Incinerate mod on his omni-tool to set another batarian aflame. John takes out his assault rifle and fires it to its heat sink's capacity.

Now out of weapons, John draws a knife and starts cutting throats and gouging eyes. Eventually, even after taking a few bullets, John stops because he's out of enemies. He retrieves his weapons and realizes Sofia is walking up to him, her weapon out.

She slaps him again. "Why are you so stupid?! Don't you listen to me at all?!"

He shakes his head. "You listen to me! I'm your commanding officer!"

"Yeah! And you just practically abandoned your men to go on some ridiculous rampage!" She shakes her head. "We just lost Foxtrot. Can't you think for just a second? We have 5 people left! That's way too few! Not to mention most of us are injured most of all you."

John looks down at himself, only now noticing all his injuries. He's sustained several bullet wounds to non-vital areas, scratches on his neck and face, along with an innumerable amount of cuts and bruises. But John doesn't feel a single one. His white hot burning rage makes him numb to the pain.

"_Come in! Come in! This is Admiral Pearce! Any contingent commander in the missile base, come in!"_ John's comm says.

After a second of silence John turns on his comm. "Admiral Pearce, this is 1st Lieutenant John Shepard of the 21st contingent. What do you need Admiral?"

"_Thank goodness!"_ The Admiral says sounding truly relieved. _"Lieutenant we have a dire situation. The slavers are falling, but a few of them are launching the missile, their last act of defiance, I suppose. If the missile leaves the base you're in, it'll be moving far too quickly for any of us to stop it. Lieutenant I need you to stop that missile any way you-" The Admiral stops suddenly. "No! Shit! Lieutenant, that missile is launching now! I thought we had time! Do something right fucking now!"_

The ground starts shaking violently and John runs over to the railing. He leans over it and looks at the missile rapidly rising towards him. It's huge and must have enough ordinance packed in it to level a countryside.

John has only one idea of how to stop it. He backs away from the railing, stripping weapons, deciding to keep his pistol.

He takes the grenades off his belt and quickly jury rigs them to the plastic explosive charge.

"John? I heard the transmission, please tell me you're not about to do what I think you're going to do." Sofia says looking at him in concern and defiance.

Opus, Jensen and Alderman all run into the room together. Their eyes snap from Sofia to John and back again.

"John what's going on?" Jensen asks.

"Missile's firing. I'm going to stop it." John says attaching the volatile explosive to his belt.

"Oh, don't even." Opus sighs.

"It's been good guys." John smiles. "I'll get out of this alright. I always do."

The top of the missile appears in their view.

"Get clear!" John shouts as he charges forward, knife in hand.

He jumps and lands his feet on the railing. John springboards off of it and he stabs his knife into the as hard as he can side and reaches for another hand hold. He takes the explosive off his belt and looks down at the thruster system, then up at the warhead.

John slaps the plastic explosive onto the side of the missile. He hopes that it's close enough to the bottom of the missile to throw it off course.

John pulls the pins on one of the grenades and he leaps off the side of the missile. He crashes into the wall of the missile base. He starts to fall but he rotates around and catches the edge of a level. He climbs up and over the railing and he lies on the ground a second. There's a huge explosion and the missile hits the side of the missile tube.

It falls apart and starts to fall back down the tube.

John curses and starts running down the tunnel directly in front of him. He doesn't know where he's going but he's trying to get the hell out of here.

A bunch of unarmed batarians in Black Bind armor, who are bound are lined up along a wall up ahead. They spot John running towards them and they start shouting at him for help.

John, instead takes out his pistol and shoots a few, leaving the rest to die in the explosion. He has no love for them. Why the hell would he? They showed no mercy, why should he?

There's a distant boom and the tunnel starts to shake so violently, John stumbles. The lights in the tunnel flicker and black out and John is bathed in darkness.

He keeps running though, charging down the dark tunnel. Some pieces of the ceiling fall off, but he keeps running. He spots a distant light ahead, a sure sign of a way out. Pieces of the ceiling fall onto John from above but he keeps running.

John sprints towards it, running like he's never done before. Finally he reaches the light, which turns out to be a collapsed part of the tunnel that leads to the surface. John clambers up the huge chunks of jagged rocks. He reaches the top and pulls himself out of the tunnel. He rolls over onto his back and he sighs in exhaustion.

The tunnel he was in suddenly collapses entirely next to him as some violent earthquake reaches him. John sits up quickly and looks around. Around him, the entire tunnel network of the batarian pirates starts to collapse into the ground. A massive sinkhole appears and a huge portion of the ground around it collapses into it. John sits right at the edge of it.

"_John!"_ John hears Sofia say. _"John please tell me you got out of there. John!"_

John turns on his comm. "I'm alright. I'm sending you my coordinates." John does so and he switches to the Admiral's public comm channel. "Admiral Pearce. This is 1st Lieutenant John Shepard, reporting: Mission accomplished."

"_Son, if you were here right now, I'd give you a drink and a cigar straight from my personal stash."_ John smirks. _"Good work, we have your coordinates. We're coming to get you and your men. Rest, son. You did it."_

John lets his arm fall to the side. He suddenly hears footsteps rushing toward him. Paranoid as he is, John points his pistol at the people. But it's just Sofia, Jensen, Alderman and Opus.

Sofia slides on her knees to him. "John! You're a fucking mad man!"

John smirks. "I know."

"Jesus Christ you're an idiot." Opus compliments sitting next to him.

"You should get a medal for that!" Alderman shouts ecstatic.

Jensen who is sitting a short ways away scoffs. "Or a court martial." Everyone, except John, looks at him confused.

"Jensen, what do you mean?" Sofia frowns at him.

Jensen smiles the most tired smile any of them had ever seen. "John Shepard. Butcher of Torfan. John, don't you realize? All the marines in the tunnels? They had captured all the batarians and the thralls and they had em just sitting around when the evacuation call sounded. If I had to guess, close to none of the marines took their prisoners with them. You just killed… oh… I'd say a good 3,500 people easy."

John is staring straight up at the sky.

After a long pause, in which everyone stares at him, waiting for a response from their hero, John says simply this: "I know."

Then he smiles and tears run from his eyes.

* * *

**End of Part 4…**

* * *

**A/N: Congrats! You just finished Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass's 60 page prologue! Applause for yourself! Please take a break from reading for a while, now. It's good for your health. The sun, that is. Seriously, go outside. I know you've read this all in one sitting (LIKE I SAID YOU SHOULDN'T), but no matter, go on, take a walk. Walk your dog. Make happy things happen.**

**Take a freaking break!**

**60 pages can be a lot of reading, so I'll stop talking now. But before I actually stop talking, I have a few business things to talk about.**

**So… Alright I have news that you guys should know but I don't know how to put it exactly right yet. So until I figure out how to say it right, I'll keep it to myself. But it's good news. At least for me. I mean it's a good thing, but it has long standing repercussions that'll actually interfere with my writing. For a long time.**

**I'll tell you guys what it is later, when I figure out how to say it right.**

**Massive Shock 2 will be posted on schedule, the first chapter being released on January 3, 2013. I'll warn you now that the first 2 chapters of Massive Shock 2 are pretty dull, because it's sort of just a canonical retelling of the first Citadel visit of Mass Effect 1, with a look into how Splicer's actions have changed the game. Literally.**

**Oh, and check out my profile and give me your input on the poll. I'd like the story to be more reader friendly, with the readers having more of a voice in the story's development. Help me make an educated decision and answer the poll on my profile if you have a minute to spare. Thanks.**

**But I'll let you get to that when you get to it.**

**Oh! One more thing before I turn you loose. All Massive Shock asked for this year for Christmas its birthday is a hug, a kiss, good company, and a review! Show your support of my personal project, that is one year old today, by telling me what you thought of the prologue! **

**So until next time.**

**Mockingbird79**

**Logging you out.**


	2. Ch 1: Shadow Admission

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself."**

**~Don Marquis~**

* * *

**Ch. 1: The Shadow Admission**

_It seems we've found ourselves now, at an odd crossroads. _

_On one hand, we may look and see what is happening with our main attraction. But an important factor, albeit one already known and probably somewhat boring by now, is the story of a tortured soldier: Lieutenant Commander Shepard. He is important. Very important to us. See we see him as a threat, or maybe a hero. Or maybe both. Time will tell. _

_Eden Prime was just the prologue and well… we were all there, we know what happened._

_So instead we find ourselves in the SSV Normandy, just after Eden Prime. A vision from the Prothean Beacon has been burned into Shepard's mind. Let us see, how he deconstructs it…_

* * *

**3:14 PM January 3, 2183**

Shepard awakens with a start, opening his eyes sharply, his eyes darting about the room with slight panic.

The dim light does nothing to affect his migraine, thankfully. Or, perhaps, his migraine is simply so bad, it can't get any worse.

He starts to sits up very slowly, wincing with pain and discomfort and rotating himself on the cot in the med bay of the Normandy. What the hell happened?

"Doctor! Doctor Chakwas! I think he's waking up." Ashley Williams announces from somewhere nearby.

The sudden head rush prevents Shepard from getting off the cot, he waits a second, cradling his aching head in his palm, the other hand on the bed to steady himself as the room spins.

He hears foots steps nearby and looks up at Chakwas as she rounds the cot to examine him. She doesn't however she leans against the opposite wall and looks at Shepard analytically. "You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?"

Shepard presses his fingers into his eyes trying to still the room before speaking. He blinks blearily, before looking around the room, slightly confused. "How did I end up here? What happened? How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours." Chakwas responds curtly. "Something happened down there with the Beacon, I think."

Ashley sighs behind Shepard, drawing his attention. "It was my fault. I must've tripped some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."

Shepard looks at her sternly, always the authoritative commander. "You had no way to know what would happen. But you should have been more careful. There's no telling what that thing did to me."

Ashley smiles slightly. Shepard looks back at Chakwas, expectantly.

Chakwas shrugs. "We actually we don't even know if that's what set it off. Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out."

"The Beacon exploded." Ashley explains as she approaches, taking a spot next to Chakwas. "A system overload maybe. The blast knocked you out cold. The lieutenant and I carried you back here to the ship."

"I appreciate it." Shepard says with a slight nod at Ashley, causing a crick in his neck that he didn't notice before to flare with pain.

Ashley smiles again. Perhaps in gratitude.

Shepard grunts and groans and stretches his neck out. "Leaving me on Eden Prime definitely wouldn't have made my day any better." Shepard rubs his neck and looks up at Chakwas. "So… what's the damage?"

"Physically you're fine. Perhaps a little sore." She explains. Shepard rubs his stiff neck again. "But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves."

Shepard stands and walks around to the foot of the bed and faces the wall.

"I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement." Chakwas continues observing Shepard closely for signs of PTSD. "Signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

Shepard shakes his head at the mention of dreams. That was no dream. "I saw… I don't know what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear. I can tell you that there was something weird with that Beacon and I think I may have taken the brunt of it."

"Hmmm." Chakwas mumbles eyeing him closely. "I better add this to my report. It may-"

The door to the med bay opens and Captain Anderson strides in.

"Oh." Chakwas says pleasantly. "Captain Anderson."

Shepard gives a weak salute and Anderson quickly puts him at ease. He turns his attention directly to Chakwas. "How's our XO holding up, doctor?"

Chakwas shrugs. "All the readings look normal. I'd say the commander's going to be fine."

She smiles at Shepard as she says that. Shepard gives a half-assed smile in response. Chakwas chuckles quietly to herself.

Anderson nods in approval. "Glad to hear it. Shepard I need to speak with you. In private."

The other two take the hint. Ashley salutes Anderson. "Aye, aye Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me."

She leaves the med bay, followed by Chakwas who doesn't bother saying where she's going. Nowhere, really.

After they're gone and the door has closed completely Anderson turns his attention back to the Commander. "Sounds like that Beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?"

Shepard grunts staring at the floor. "I'll live but I can't help but feel odd about that mission."

Anderson nods understandingly but remains silent, ready to listen.

Shepard sighs. "Geth? What the fuck, Captain?"

Anderson scoffs. "The Council won't like this…"

Shepard shakes his head. "That mission was a total shit storm. Geth… Jenkins. Nihilus. Now, Williams?"

Anderson nods. "Jenkins's remains have been collected. He'll get a proper burial at least. As for the Gunnery Chief, well her entire platoon had been wiped out and we were shorthanded with the untimely death of Jenkins, God rest his soul. I figured we could use her on the ship."

Shepard nod still focused on Anderson's shoes. "She's a good soldier. I'm glad to have her on board. Though I don't trust her."

"Bah!" Anderson curses and shakes his head. "You have got to let go of your hang ups Shepard! She's going to be on your team, you fought side by side with her already, you saved her life, she dragged you all the way back to the ship… There are plenty of reasons for you to trust each other already!" Anderson sighs. "You need to learn to let things go son. Let it go and learn to trust people. Starting with Williams."

Shepard doesn't respond, he averts his eyes and glares at the ground.

Anderson's expression darkens. "And as for Nihilus… I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihilus is dead. The Beacon was destroyed and the geth are invading. The Council's going to want answers."

Shepard scowls. "We did nothing wrong here. Besides the geth would've blown that whole colony off the map if I hadn't stopped them."

Anderson doesn't respond immediately. He turns and walks away slightly, glancing over his shoulder at the commander. "I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You're a damned hero in my books. But that's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other turian."

Anderson turns back around staring at Shepard intensely. "Saren's a Spectre."

Shepard's heart sinks and he groans audibly.

Anderson nods and continues. "He's one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the geth then it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans."

"Of course he does." Shepard mumbles running a hand over his head. He looks up at Anderson. "But he didn't come to Eden Prime because he hates humans."

"You're right. Saren has allied himself with the geth." Anderson says sounding committed and adamant on the matter. "I don't know how. I don't know why. But it had something to do with that Beacon." He looks at Shepard hopefully. "You were there when that Beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after? Anything?"

Shepard looks down at the ground again. The horrors flash through his mind again. If only he could forget. "Just before I lost consciousness. I had some kind of… vision."

Anderson frowns but doesn't discredit this. He approaches looking and sounding interested. "A vision? A vision of what?"

"I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe." Shepard says with a shrug. He looks up at Anderson. "Slaughtering people. Butchering them. It was horrible."

Anderson's expression grows grim. "We need to report this to the Council, Shepard."

Shepard scoffs. "What're we going to tell them? That I had a bad dream?"

Anderson glares at him slightly. "We don't know what was stored on that Beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it is. Saren has it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation. His politics. He believes the humans are a blight on the galaxy. That attack was an act of war!"

Shepard's expression darkens and angers slightly.

Anderson continues. "He has the secrets of the Beacon. He has an army of geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!"

Shepard's dark expression turns to a determined one. "You don't need to convince me, Anderson. I'll find some way to take him down. You may want save the speeches for the Council."

Anderson nods. "You're right. It won't be easy. Saren's a Spectre. He can do anything. We need the Council on our side."

Shepard realizes Anderson's point. "We prove Saren's gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status."

Anderson nods. "I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be getting close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to take us into dock."

Anderson leaves the med bay leaving Shepard alone. Shepard sighs through his nose.

"Saren." Shepard muses to himself. "I've never even met the guy, I don't even know what he looks like. Though he probably has an appearance of pure evil. Hopefully… The Council sees he's a douche. Sure sounds like he's a douche."

* * *

**Later…**

"This is an outrage!" Ambassador Udina exclaims angrily at the trio of holograms. "The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!"

"_The turians don't form colonies on the edge of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador."_ The Salarian Councilor says with his arms crossed, head slightly tilted to obscure his face with his hood.

"_Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse."_ The Asari Councilor adds.

Udina growls angrily. "We were aware of the risks involving pirates and batarians not fucking geth!"

"_Watch your tone, Ambassador."_ The Turian Councilor says somewhat angrily.

Udina calms his tone slightly. "What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!"

"_You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador."_ The Turian Councilor states as a fact and an order.

"_Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before."_ The Asari Councilor says firmly.

Without waiting for a response and with no warning, the holograms fade and vanish.

Udina, clearly still steamed from his little spat with the Council, starts the conversation with Anderson with a scowl. "Captain Anderson, I see you brought half your crew with you."

Anderson ignores the hostility and gestures to the soldiers behind him. "Just the ground team from Eden Prime. In case you had questions."

Udina rolls his eyes. "I have the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?"

Shepard, expecting questions, faces the Ambassador with his head held high.

"They are." Anderson says nodding. "Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience."

Udina sighs. "They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason."

"Saren's a threat to every human colony out there!" Shepard says angrily. "He's a danger to humanity and the galaxy, the Council has to see that!"

"Settle down, Commander." Udina says firmly. "You've already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihilus ends up dead and the beacon destroyed!"

"That's Saren's fault, not his!" Anderson retorts.

Udina sighs. "Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." He motions for Anderson to follow him. "Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I'll make sure you have the clearance to get in."

Anderson and Udina leave the office.

Ashley shakes her head. "And that is why I hate politicians."

"You and me both." Kaiden Alenko adds.

The team moves to go to the Council Chambers in the Presidium tower…

* * *

"You can skip this part. I was there. I know what happened."

_Fine, if you so insist._

* * *

**Later…**

Shepard shakes his head in disappointment and frustration.

"Of course the Council would deny this. What else was I expecting? I hate politics…" Shepard mumbles to himself.

Udina approaches and wastes no time in redirecting blame for failure at someone else. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives."

Shepard glares at him. "Maybe they questioned our motives because you blew a gasket and screamed at them."

Udina shoots daggers with his glare.

"I know Saren!" Anderson exclaims. "He's working with the geth for one reason and that's to exterminate the human race! Every colony is at risk. Every world in our control is in danger! Even Earth isn't safe!"

"We need to deal with Saren ourselves." Shepard says determined.

Udina crosses his arms and thinks over their options. "Saren is a Spectre. He's virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him."

"What about Garrus?" Kaiden announces suddenly. "That C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the Executor."

"That's right!" Ashley exclaims excitedly. "He was asking for more time to finish his report and it seemed like he was close to finding something on Saren."

"Any idea where we could find him?" Shepard asks nobody in particular.

"I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down." Udina says, much to Shepard's relief. "His name's Harkin."

Anderson scoffs. "Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month for drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to." Udina says with a harsh tone. "I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this."

Shepard frowns. "You can't just cut Anderson out of this investigation."

Anderson shakes his head. "The Ambassador's right. I need to step aside."

"I need to take care of some business." Udina says casually, like this stuff happens to him every day. "Captain, meet me in my office later."

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den." Anderson says with contempt after Udina's gone. Contempt at Udina, Harkin or Chora's Den, nobody can discern. "It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the Wards."

Shepard nods. "Any lead we have is useful. Is there anyone else that can help me find information on Saren?"

Anderson shakes his head. "No, no one I can think… Wait. On second thought there is. Maybe."

Shepard frowns as Anderson motions him and his team closer. They huddle closer together.

"If it's information you're after, then I know someone who can help you. There used to be an Information Broker for the Shadow Broker just at the base of the Tower, but he's dead." Anderson says nonchalantly. "But, rumor has it that the mercenary known as Splicer works with and for the Shadow Broker on regular occasions. I think he knows some people who work for the Shadow Broker as well. If there's anyone who's got information, it's him."

"What can you tell me about him?" Shepard asks curiously.

Anderson shrugs. "Not much unfortunately. He's human. He shouldn't be too hard to recognize, his face is plastered all over newspapers on the Citadel, and he's got his fair share of battle scars. I'd actually kill to know how he stays in such good condition for someone who's famous partly for being a bullet sponge. And he's a nice guy, but slow to trust and paranoid. He appeared, kind of out of nowhere about a year ago and he's gained quite a bit of notoriety and status as a freelance mercenary and bounty hunter. He has been on a hiatus for the last few months or so for some reason, I don't know why. So you can probably find him at his home in Shin Akiba. He's nice once you get to know him, but I would be careful around him. He's dangerous. Very dangerous."

"How dangerous are we talking here?" Ashley asks interested.

Anderson mulls over the answer. "He can do things… Odd things. He can show you better, probably. But I'll say that he's probably the toughest son of a bitch I've ever met."

"How do you know him?" Shepard asks.

"He saved me and Udina's lives back during the Battle of the Suns. Surely you heard about that." Anderson says.

"Yeah, I think the whole galaxy heard about that, we don't know the details though." Kaiden says. "I've heard a lot about him actually. He was the name to know a couple months ago and I think he appeared in a magazine fashion photo shoot a little while back. Not to mention all those stupid conspiracy theories there are about him."

"Is that really someone we want helping us?" Ashley scoffs sarcastically.

Shepard shrugs. "If Anderson thinks he can help, I'll trust his judgment."

The group backs away slightly.

"Thanks, Anderson. You've been a great help. I'll be back once I have something solid." Shepard says turning and leaving.

"Good luck, Commander." Anderson calls after him.

"Who should we go see first?" Kaiden asks. "That Splicer guy, or Harkin?"

"Personally, I'm a little curious about Splicer." Ashley notes.

Shepard nods. "I am too. But he's just a merc. And this is a rumor we're going off of here. I think we should find Garrus first, at least he may have something concrete."

Kaiden nods. "Agreed."

Ashley shrugs. "Alright whatever."

"Chora's Den it is." Shepard mumbles as he approaches a Rapid Transit terminal.

* * *

**Later…**

Shepard leads his squad toward Chora's Den from the dark alley.

"I got a bad feeling about this, Commander." Kaiden mumbles.

Two turians suddenly pop out of cover on the other side of the large square walkway simultaneously.

They fire flurries of assault rifle fire at the squad.

They all slid into cover, their shields taking only minor damage.

"Assassins!" Ashley exclaims drawing her assault rifle.

Shepard draws his shotgun and Kaiden his pistol.

"Kaiden!" Shepard says over the noise of the gunfire. "Move down the walkway to the right! Hit one with biotics! Williams cover us! I'm going left."

Kaiden splits off and goes right down the walkway as Shepard goes left, moving faster to get around the increased distance faster.

Ashley fires blindly over cover enough to put the assassins in a ceasefire. She rises out and continues firing without taking her finger off the trigger. As the heat on her assault rifle rises she shortens her attacks to bursts.

Kaiden reaches the end of the walkway. If he rounds the corner he'll be face to face with the assassins. He glances cautiously over the top of the walkway's railings. He spots Shepard's back reaching the end of the walkway and start to glow with biotics.

Kaiden activates his biotics as well.

He spins around the walkway's corner and hits the near assassin with a Lift, causing him to float weightlessly upwards. Shepard moves out of cover and eviscerates the other assassin at the molecular level with a Warp.

Ashley moves to shoot the floating assassin from the sky but he turns to a fine blue mist as he is hit by a passing car.

The team flinches as bluish blood rains down on them.

Ashley snickers.

Shepard smirks and signals for the team to regroup.

The team enters Chora's Den, nobody seems to have been put off by the nearby firefight. In fact they seem oblivious or unfazed by it.

"Now this is my kind of place." Kaiden says over the loud music.

"Didn't know you were into this kind of thing." Ashley says eyeing the scantily clad dancers.

"There's lots of stuff you don't know about me." Kaiden says swaying slightly to the music.

Shepard ignores their banter and walks up to the bartender. "I'm looking for a guy named Harkin."

The bartender nods at the back of the room. "He's in the back near the offices."

Shepard nods, a gesture wasted as the bartender immediately rushes off to attend to other customers.

Shepard leads the team toward the back of the club. He spots, presumably Harkin sitting at a table alone. He's a greasy looking guy. Ugly in his own special way.

The trio stops for a second when they spot the pair of arguing krogan. It's never wise to get near any two krogan who are even talking to each other. Everyone knows that. Which begs the question as to why Harkin looks so comfortable at the table next to them?

The krogans' deep voices are easily heard over the music.

"Back off, Wrex." The unarmored krogan says jabbing a threatening finger at the other, to no effect. "Fist told us to take you down if you showed up."

The crimson armored krogan named Wrex crosses his arms and turns his scarred head to the side impatiently. "What are you waiting for? I'm standing right here." Wrex leans in slightly. "This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it."

The bouncer backs up a little. "He's not coming out, Wrex. End of story."

Wrex turns toward him threateningly. "This story is just beginning. Fist missed his chance. Tell him I'll see his stupid brains mixed with tungsten from my gun by the end of the day."

Wrex turns to leave, Shepard and his team block his path slightly. "Out of my way, humans. I have no quarrel with you."

After he's gone Kaiden looks at Shepard and Ashley curiously. "What the hell was that all about?"

Ashley shrugs. "Who knows? Let's just try not to get caught in the middle."

With the path to Harkin clear, Shepard and his squad approach.

Harkin looks away from the dancers and notices them approaching. "Alliance military. Hmph. I coulda been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddamn Citadel Security." He pauses to down his entire drink. "Biggest mistake of my life."

Shepard can smell his breath from here, so in order to save his oxygen supply, he cuts the crap. "Where's Garrus?"

Harkin laughs. "Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring Saren down, eh? I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the captain let you in on his big secret?"

Shepard rolls his eyes. "I just need to know where Garrus is."

"But it's all connected don't you see?" Harkin asks curiously. "The Captain used to be a Spectre. Didn't know that did you? It was all very hush-hush. The first human Spectre ever given that honor. Then he blew it. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren. Says the turian set him up."

Shepard rubs his eyes which are burning from the content of alcohol in Harkin's breath. "I. Don't. Care. Just tell me where Garrus went."

Harkin thankfully relents. "Garrus went sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs the med clinics on the other side of the Wards. Last I heard, he was going back there."

Shepard immediately turns and leaves the club, taking deep breaths of the stagnant air outside. "I couldn't breathe in there."

"I could smell Harkin's breath from 9 feet away." Ashley says in disgust. "Michel's office isn't too far, if we hurry we might catch Garrus there."

Shepard nods. "Move out."

* * *

**Later…**

Shepard walks up to the Med Clinic door and opens it. He enters but immediately notices something amiss.

He spots Garrus crouched down very low, walking around to the corner of a low wall. On the other side Dr. Chloe Michel is being harassed and interrogated by a squad of armed thugs.

"I-I didn't tell anyone! I swear!" Michel says pleadingly backing away from one of the thugs only to bump into another one behind her.

"That was smart, Doc." The merc she was addressing says. "Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-"

The thugs spots Shepard over Michel's shoulder as he draws his pistol.

The thug reacts quickly grabbing Michel and pulling her into a one armed headlock pointing his pistol at Shepard. "Who are you?!"

Shepard aims his pistol carefully, cradling it in both hands. "Let her go." He says commandingly.

Kaiden and Ashley do the same, raising their pistols to bear with the thugs. Shepard panics slightly, as he spots Garrus swing around the column and fire his pistol.

Shepard sees a spurt of blood from either Michel or the thug and hears Michel cry out. Shepard's heart skips a beat as he waits. The thug drops dead behind the doctor, who rushes for cover as the other thugs flee further into the clinic, trapping themselves.

Shepard charges forward and vaults over the low wall toward the nearest thug.

The thug raises his shotgun at Shepard. But Shepard suddenly sways and spins out of the way as the merc fires. Shepard quickly rotates himself back under the raised shotgun throws an open palm biotic strike into the side of the thugs head. The biotic Throw at the close proximity sends the thug flying into a crate two mercs are using as cover.

Whatever was in it must've been heavy because it crushes them, killing them instantly. All the thugs are now dead. The warriors holster their weapons.

Shepard approaches Garrus and Michel who are standing next to each other.

"Damn, Shepard." Garrus says in admiration. "You got some moves, I'll give you that. Perfect timing too. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

Shepard scowls at him angrily. "What were you thinking! You could've shot the hostage!"

Garrus appears taken aback. "There wasn't time to think, I just reacted. I didn't- Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'm okay. Thanks to you, all of you."

"I know those men threatened you." Shepard says confidently. "But if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you."

"They work for Fist." Michel answers immediately and without hesitation. "They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

"What quarian?" Shepard asks confused, knowing full well of the rarity of quarian in the galaxy.

"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker, she wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide." Michel says. "I put her in contact with Fist; he's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

Garrus shake his head. "Not anymore. Now he works for Saren and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?" Michel exclaims in shock. "That's stupid even for him. Saren must've made him quite the offer."

"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker for." Garrus says in a realization.

"She must have proof Saren is a traitor. Did the quarian mention anything about Saren, or the geth?" Shepard asks frantically.

Michel shakes her head. "No. She didn't."

Shepard frowns. "Damn… Then this is a hunch we're chasing. We need more information. Michel, do you know when the meeting is?"

She checks her omni-tools. "Not long, unfortunately."

"We need to hurry then." Ashley says.

"What else is there to get?" Garrus protests anxiously.

Shepard frowns at him. "I'd like to not have to gun down a bunch of people in a public place without a real reason. I figured you'd know that."

He nods. "Of course… well what other leads do you three have?"

"Just one." Kaiden says. "A possible link to the Shadow Broker: Splicer."

"Splicer?" Garrus exclaims. He then sighs, despondently. "I can't go anywhere without him being involved even a little bit."

Michel gasps. "Of course! I almost forgot!"

"What?" Ashley asks.

"Remember what I said? About the quarian? She wanted to trade the information for protection. A patient of mine, another quarian, knows Splicer, so I sent the quarian to him. He's a very famous and dangerous mercenary, I was sure that he'd be able to protect her. Also he has a reputation for being an alien sympathizer, so I figured he wouldn't turn her away." Michel explains.

"The quarian might still be at his apartment. If not we should still pay him a visit." Shepard says adamantly.

Garrus speaks up just as they turn to leave. "Commander! This is your show. But I want to take down Saren as much as you do. I'm coming along."

Shepard eyes the turian. He nods quickly. "Welcome aboard, Garrus."

Garrus nods back. "Thanks Shepard. It's an honor."

The soldiers exit the clinic quickly and head to a Rapid Transit terminal.

"Garrus, can I call you Garrus?" Kaiden asks as the cab opens its doors to the squad.

He nods. "Yes. You are?"

"Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. Kaiden, please." He says shaking the turians hand.

"Kaiden, shoot." Garrus says.

"I noticed that you recognized Splicer's name. Do you know him?" Kaiden asks as they enter the car.

Garrus gulps. "Uh… Yeah. We've met."

"Are you two friends?" Shepard asks him.

He shakes his head. "No. We've only spoke on a few occasions. But I'm acquainted with him.

"Great. That'll make him trust us more I guess." Ashley says cheerfully.

"Uh…" Garrus starts.

Shepard looks at him curiously. "Got something to say, Garrus?"

"Uh… No. Nah…" Garrus hesitates. "Well… to be honest… He may not like me very much."

"Why's that?" Ashley asks him.

Garrus sighs. "I didn't like him from the second I met him. I may have arrested him on a few occasions… and beaten him up a little... among other things."

Kaiden chuckles. "This should be interesting then."

* * *

**Later…**

Shepard walks into the apartment building with his squad. Immediately he realizes something's going down. The security guards in the room are either dead or incapacitated. The squad draws their weapons quickly.

"What's going on?" Kaiden asks as he checks a guard's pulse.

"I'm not sure." Garrus says eyeing the room suspiciously and aiming his rifle around the place.

"Where's Splicer's apartment?" Shepard asks Garrus.

"7th floor." He responds approaching the elevator. "I can't remember the apartment number but it's the corner apartment on the left.

They all enter and ride it up. But the elevator's lights fail and they feel it stop moving about three floors up.

"Damn!" Shepard says turning on his omni-tool light. "They cut the power. Williams, you're on point."

"Got it Commander." She says taking point, keeping her assault rifle raised, the light on it illuminating the dark hall.

The reach the stairwell and enter cautiously.

Slowly they move up toward the 7th floor. They reach it without out issue. But they aren't alone in the hall. This floor seems to have retained its power supply and a squad of 4 soldiers creeps slowly down the hall.

Shepard raises his pistol at the mercs who have their backs turned. "Drop your weapons!"

The mercs whirl around and immediately scatter into adjacent apartments except for one soldier who backs down the hall firing his pistol poorly at them as he backpedals down the hall. Ashley opens up on him, killing him quickly.

Another merc pops her head out of an apartment, firing her assault rifle at Shepard and his squad.

"Scatter!" Shepard shouts, ramming his shoulder into the nearest apartment door and rushing inside.

Immediately he sees he isn't alone.

One of the mercs has somehow found his way inside this apartment and is holding the family who live here hostage.

He holds a pistol to a man's head, his wife and children cowering in the corner.

Shepard keeps his pistol raised at the merc and approaches slowly. "Let them go! Now!"

The merc eyes him and remains silent. His thick hair obscures much of his face, but the glint of the light on his eyes creeps the hell out of Shepard. The merc suddenly whips himself around hurling his pistol at Shepard's head and kicking Shepard's pistol from his own hands.

Shepard backs up a step and dodges a fast roundhouse kick aimed at the head. He throws a jab at the merc but the merc catches his arm and attempts to break it.

Shepard quickly pivots his arm and drives his elbow into the merc's jaw.

The merc releases Shepard's arm and stumbles away slightly. He quickly takes a half step forward aiming his knee at Shepard's solar plexus. Shepard extends his arms and stops the merc's knee.

Shepard quickly brings both hands up and slaps both his hands, hard, against the merc's ears. Without letting go he pulls the stunned merc's head down into his knee strike. The merc stumbles back from Shepard's grasp and into a wall where he collapses and goes limp.

Shepard looks at the family. "Get to safety, quick."

They quickly hurry away. Shepard eyes the merc.

He was fast, and a good hand to hand combatant. If Shepard wasn't wearing armor, his arm might have been broken easily and he would have lost that fight. Shepard retrieves his pistol and moves to the door. He peeks out and sees a merc sprinting down the hall only to be sniped by Garrus.

She falls, sliding to the ground. She's still alive and drags herself to the wall, where she props herself up, but quickly dies. Her two teammates lay dead in the hall.

Shepard regroups with his squad.

"What the hell was that?" Garrus asks confused.

Shepard shrugs. "Saren's assassin's maybe?"

Ashley shakes her head. "No these guys are all human and Saren hates humans, remember?"

"Good point." Garrus says.

Shepard sighs. "Let's just get to Splicer."

They walk down the hall stepping over the corpses as they walk. The one who died first is a short haired scruffy guy with an unlit cigarette still hanging from his lips.

The oldest looking one, a guy with a rough beard and greying hair lies dead just behind the woman. The woman's blue eyes lie open and her long blonde hair is caked with blood.

Shepard ignores them, or at least tries, and walks down the hall with his squad.

"This is the one." Garrus says indicating apartment 7117.

Shepard raps on it with his knuckle.

Muffled voices are heard inside.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice responds.

"Is Splicer a woman?" Ashley mumbles to Garrus.

He shakes his head.

"This is Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy and the System's Alliance. I need to speak with Splicer." Shepard says loudly at the door.

The door opens and a short, tan, pretty young woman with freckles and a pixie cut looks at Shepard curiously. "Splicer isn't here right now. I'm not sure where he is."

"Alex?" Garrus says curiously, squeezing past Shepard.

"Garrus." Alex says sounding relieved and smiling. She quickly hugs Garrus tightly, taking him slightly off guard. "What are you doing here? We heard gunfire so we locked the door, is everything alright?"

He nods. "Yeah, everything's fine. But we need to find Splicer."

"Why? What'd he do this time?" Alex says with a frown, slight hostility in her voice.

"Nothing." Garrus says peering into the apartment.

"Did you see any quarians or anything come by?" Shepard asks trying to look past Alex into the apartment.

She frowns. "Just Nata…"

"Nata?" Shepard asks confused slightly.

"Not the quarian we're looking for." Garrus responds. "Nata is a friend of Splicer's and probably not the right one."

"Do you know when Splicer left?" Kaiden asks from the sidelines.

Alex shakes her head. "No… Oh! Cloves!"

"_Yes, ma'am?"_ The artificial voice of a VI responds with a simulated British accent.

"When did Splicer leave?" Alex asks.

"_He exited the building, via public transit, about 10 minutes ago."_ The VI, curiously named Cloves, responds.

"Damn." Ashley curses. "We just missed him then."

"VI." Shepard says from the hall. "Do you know where Splicer went?"

"_No, sir."_ The VI responds.

Disappointment reigns over the group. A quarian rounds a corner in the apartment and comes into view behind Alex.

"Alex?" She says curiously. "Who are these people?"

"Alliance soldiers. They're looking for Splicer and some quarian. Not you." Alex responds.

"Hm." The quarian turns and walks out of sight.

"Looks like all we can do now is go see Fist." Shepard says to his team.

Kaiden nods. "Roger, Commander."

"Shepard." Garrus says. "I heard that the boys down at C-Sec picked up a krogan mercenary for threats against Fist. He could be useful."

Shepard nods. "Let's get him then get Fist."

The team walks back down the hall and away from the apartment.

"Good luck with whatever you're doing!" Alex calls after them.

"We're going to need it…" Shepard mumbles as the team walks back to the elevator.

* * *

**A/N: Whoa, so I guess I forgot to update on time! For that, I'm totes sorry! So here's the deal:**

**Since this chapter was boring, I'm going to give you chapter 2 as well!**

**Aaaaaand since I forgot to post on time I'm going to give you, wait for it... CHAPTER 3!**

**Enjoy! ****Sorry for the wait by the way. I wanted to make sure it was good. The story picks up in the chapters to come, remember that this right here is happening at the same time as Massive Shock 1 is ending.**

**Mind fuck?! Maybe.**


	3. Ch 2: Cadre of Misfits

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**An alliance with a powerful person is never safe."**

**~Phaedrus~**

* * *

**Ch. 2: A Cadre of Misfits**

_Are you ready for more? That's good._

_We left off with Shepard looking for leads. He found Garrus Vakarian, a C-Sec investigator and went looking for the mercenary Splicer, to no avail. Now with only one lead, Fist._

_Let us return to the story…_

* * *

**9:02 PM January 3, 2183**

Shepard, Garrus, Ashley, and Kaiden all exit the cab at the C-Sec headquarters on the Wards. Across the room they see Wrex, the biggest, meanest, baddest krogan all of them have ever seen.

Well… Except for Garrus. See, he's met Ramlok. So… He's seen bigger. But Wrex was definitely the baddest and meanest one he's seen. For sure. Though Shepard and his soldiers don't know that. They all believe themselves to be in agreement:

Wrex is badass.

They don't even need to have talked to him.

This only makes them all impressed by the C-Sec officer who's actually standing his ground against him.

Shepard approaches Wrex and the three officers surrounding him.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar." The ballsy C-Sec officer states confidently. "Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex snaps back at him immediately.

The officer leans forward slightly, glaring Wrex down. "This is your only warning Wrex."

Wrex leans in as well, causing the other fellow to lean back. "You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"You want me to arrest you?" The officer threatens.

Wrex laughs. "I want you to try."

Wrex notices Shepard, Ashley, Kaiden and Garrus all watching nearby. He pushes past the C-Sec officer and stomps towards them, his footsteps making loud banging noises on the ground as he walks.

"Go on! Get out of here!" The C-Sec officer shouts, trying to save face, before turning to leave.

Wrex ignores him and looks at Shepard expectantly. "Do I know you, Human?"

"My name's Shepard." Shepard says. "I'm going after Fist, thought you might want to come along."

"Shepard?" Wrex mumbles, his voice resonating and the name uttered hanging in the air as if he tastes it. "Commander Shepard? I've hear a lot about you." Wrex approaches Shepard further, until Shepard can smell the blood in his breath… or is that toothpaste? "We're both warriors Shepard. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming." Garrus interjects, becoming the voice of reason. "We'll have a better chance if we work together."

Wrex eyes Garrus before choosing to ignore his statement, mostly. "My people have a saying: Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."

Shepard nods and extends a hand. "We have a similar saying. Glad to have you on the team Wrex."

Wrex shakes Shepard's hand and surprisingly puts little force behind it. Shepard, having not met many krogan, was unaware of the bizarreness of this gesture.

Wrex nods. "Let's go. I hate to keep Fist waiting."

The newly grown team heads back to the Transit terminal. They enter a cab but Wrex doesn't enter with them.

"Looks a little snug." He mumbles. "Go. I'll take another one."

* * *

**Later…**

The cab toting Wrex touches down nearby and the krogan exits and stands tall. The cab quickly flies away and Wrex rejoins his new comrades, drawing his shotgun from his back as he walks.

"Plan of attack?" He asks, sounding like he couldn't care less how they do it.

"They know we're coming." Garrus says loudly, getting everyone's attention. "They'll be ready."

"There're probably a lot of goons under Fist's payroll." Ashley adds drawing her assault rifle.

Shepard draws his shotgun and holds it lazily at his side. "There's only one entrance. I think there's only one way to do this."

"The best way." Wrex growls sounding pleased.

"Full frontal assault." Kaiden says with a sigh. "Just like you, Commander."

Garrus glances at him. "Still doesn't mean we're doing this stupid, Kaiden. We still need a plan."

Shepard backs a few steps and looks over at the entrance to the club. "Looks like it's shut down. The entrance is locked."

"Can we blow the door?" Ashley asks placing a palm on one of her grenades.

He shakes his head. "Unlikely. I don't think it has magnetic locks, so we could just force it open. It'll be tough though."

"I volunteer to be the battering ram." Wrex says loudly.

"Alright." Shepard nods approvingly. "Wrex will bust open the door. Chief Williams and I will follow him in. Kaiden and Garrus will then enter and cover us. Everyone got it?"

The group resounds with a mix of "Rogers", "Affirmatives", and one "Let's just kill Fist already."

Wrex pushes past Shepard and leads the group up to the door. He holsters his shotgun and wedges his fingers into the edges of the door. He breaks off the glass outer layer and jams his fingertips into the edges of the door.

Shepard nods at him.

He nods and roars, pushing the smaller end of the door upward toward the right corner.

A large gap appears revealing a number of thugs on the stripper platform above the bar.

Garrus immediately drops to a knee and shoulders his sniper. After a short second he fires twice in quick succession killing a pair of mercs.

Three remain but they force Garrus into cover with their intense fire.

Wrex leans away from the hole to avoid damage to his shield and pulls on the larger corner of the door with both hands. The door makes a hideous screeching, hissing noise.

It gives and collapses into the ground up to the knee.

Wrex draws his shotgun and steps inside, pushing the door the rest of the way down as he walks into the club, his shields, biotics, and weapon all alight.

He blasts away two mercs, biotic hurling a third into a table, splitting him in two, before ducking behind an overturned table for cover.

Shepard rolls in next, sliding immediately behind a table for cover. Even in his brief time in the open gave his shields enough damage to drop them to 60%.

Ashley sprints in next, ignoring a number of thugs, and leaping over the bar. She gets low and circles around the bar toward the back. Shepard nods approvingly. She's smart.

Shepard and Wrex advance slowly, their shotguns overheating quickly due to the sheer numbers in the bar.

Garrus and Kaiden stay near the entrance providing biotic, tech, and sniper support for the trio thinning the army of thugs.

Wrex moves faster than Shepard, mixing his attacks in a cocktail of biotics, shotgun blasts and melee kills.

He stomps toward three thugs, standing their ground foolishly.

Wrex walks quickly, nearly passing over the first one. At the last second he whips his arm out and backhands the thug into a pile of tables.

The second he blasts into bits with his shotgun, one armed.

The third tries to flee but Wrex uses his biotics to send him hurtling into the ceiling.

Shepard, taking Wrex's combat effectiveness as a challenge, charges forward toward 4 thugs who are firing in multiple directions frantically.

Shepard slows lightly to fire his pistol across the nearest merc's belly, gutting him.

The merc doubles over, just as planned.

Shepard regains his speed and rolls over the merc's back delivering a sharp kick to an adjacent thug's head.

Both fall, incapacitated to the ground. Shepard holsters his pistol and charges at another merc. He flares his biotics and does a two armed Warp against him. The merc is ripped to pieces leaving the last alone, and the last survivor.

Shepard charges, his biotics flaring brighter, when suddenly the thug's head disappears in a mist of red.

Shepard skids to a stop and looks over his shoulder at Garrus who gets up from his kneeling position, his rifle still smoking. Shepard glares at him, to which Garrus simply shrugs.

Shepard rolls his eyes and walks toward the back door. "Regroup."

They do as ordered, falling in. The team enters the back areas of the gritty establishment, finding themselves in a storage area of sorts, with boxes littering the area.

Two thin, nervous looking fellows appear from behind a box with pistols raised.

"Don't move!" One commands. "We'll shoot."

The squad levels their weapons with their new attackers quickly.

"Dock workers." Kaiden says keeping his pistols trained on the armed fools. "The real opposition must all be dead."

Shepard lowers his weapon. "You two might want to find a new place to work."

The dock workers look at each other before nodding and ditching their weapons.

"Yeah, you're right." One says. "I never liked Fist anyways."

They leave and the squad drops their guard.

"Would've been faster to kill them." Wrex grunts, keeping his shotgun readied.

"Lot of people died today." Shepard responds dryly. "I'd rather not kill more than I have to anymore."

Wrex shrugs. "If you say so… Humans are weird."

Shepard leads his squad into Fist's office.

Immediately he is hit by a torrent of projectiles.

He dives the rest of the way to the other wall where he takes cover.

Fist, an ugly tough guy, hides behind a desk in the center of the room with a pistol gripped tightly. Two security turrets also scan the area with laser designators carefully.

Shepard nods at Garrus who nods back.

Garrus nudges Kaiden. "Got an Overload program on that omni-tool?"

Kaiden nods, understanding his intent. "I'll get the left one."

Garrus nods and rolls across the gap to Shepard's side of the room. He kneels and opens his omni-tool and preps an Overload.

He raises his omni-tool once it's ready.

Kaiden does the same.

They pop out of cover, not exactly at the same time, but close enough, and hit each turret with an Overload. The tech attacks short out their kinetic barriers but they remain active.

Wrex grunts impatiently. "Leave this to me."

He holds his shotgun in his right hand, drawing his pistol with the other. Wrex walks confidently out into the open raising his weapons at each end of the room.

Wrex blasts the right turret with his shotgun, obliterating it instantly. He fires his pistol a few times, disabling the other after 3 shots.

Wrex holsters his weapons and strides to the desk. He throws it aside, sending it flying into the wall, and approaches Fist.

Fist crawls away and raises his pistol at him.

Wrex grabs his pistol and his hand and squeezes and doesn't stop squeezing until there's a spurt of blood and a spurt of coolant from his grip.

Fist howls in agony.

Wrex releases the crook and backs for Shepard to approach. Wrex squeezed Fist's hand and pistol so hard that it looks like they were fused together into a wet mangled ball of metal and ground beef.

Shepard fights off the bile rising in his throat and leans into the perspiring Fist with his pistol ready.

"Wait!" Fist shouts, his voice cracked with pain. "Don't kill me! I surrender!"

Shepard points the pistol at Fist's head, causing him to flinch. "Where's the quarian?"

"She's not here." Fist says desperately. "I don't know where she is. And that's the truth!"

"He's no use to you now." Wrex growls, eyeing Fist. "Let me kill him."

"Wait! Wait!" Fist exclaims, scrambling away and cowering more now. "I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. The quarian isn't here, said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"Face to face?" Wrex scoffs. "Impossible. Even I was hired through an agent."

"It's ignorant, sure." Garrus adds. "But she's probably fresh of the Fleet. Doesn't know much."

Shepard lowers his pistol and Fist stands with some difficulty.

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever." Fist says, calming slightly, but looking rather pale and discomforted by his mangled claw. "Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

Shepard grabs Fist's throat. "Give me the location. Now."

"Here on the Wards!" Fist gasps, suddenly afraid again. "The back alley of the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."

Wrex suddenly whips out his shotgun and blasts Fist, spraying his blood and gore all over Shepard.

"What are you doing?!" Garrus exclaims angrily.

"He was unarmed!" Kaiden exclaims, finger twitching to his pistol.

Ashley doesn't hesitate, leveling her rifle with the krogan.

Shepard spits and wipes blood from his face. "We don't shoot unarmed prisoners."

"How many people died because of him?" Wrex asks rhetorically. "He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns."

"Don't try to justify what you did." Shepard growls angrily at him. "And for future reference, use a pistol next time you shoot someone I'm standing next to. Armor is hard to clean."

"Try getting red armor." Wrex mumbles. "Or white armor. Paint it with battle… I should try that."

"We have to go!" Ashley reminds everyone.

Garrus nods. "That quarian's dead if we don't go now!"

"We better double time it Shepard." Kaiden says glancing at Shepard who nods at them.

The team exits the office and heads back into the bar, only to be greeted with another 15 thugs.

The thugs immediately open fire.

The team doesn't move for cover.

Garrus quickly kills a pair of merc with his assault rifle, rifle butting a third charging one.

Wrex charges a trio of thugs and obliterates them with his shotgun.

Kaiden uses a biotic Throw to hurl a thug from the stripper platform, followed by a series of precise pistol shots, killing two more thugs.

Ashley chucks a grenade at the feet of three thugs killing them as well.

Shepard uses Warp to kill one thug and his pistol to kill two more.

In seconds, the fight is over.

The team doesn't dilly dally. They sprint out of the club and toward the markets.

Shepard catches a glimpse of a black armored individual jogging away toward the markets as well.

"Commander." Kaiden says to Shepard.

Shepard nods. "I saw him. Probably a runner from the club. He's headed for the meeting, let's hurry."

The squad quickens their pace and reaches the alley way quickly. Up ahead they hear an explosion, causing them all to rush ahead.

They hurry up the stairs in the alley but Shepard holds up a fist to stop his squad. Up ahead they can see two salarians picking themselves up off the ground. A turian fires a SMG at a crate, behind it on Shepard's side a quarian woman stays ducked low.

"Move!" Shepard shouts. "Garrus on point! Williams, Wrex support fire! Alenko, hold position and provide high ground support!"

Garrus charges forward, trusting his new squad mates to cover him. Ashley and Wrex draw assault rifles and lay over a wall of tungsten for the assassins to try and avoid.

Kaiden, meanwhile, uses his biotics to punish the assassins from above.

Garrus, about halfway down the stairway, leaps the rest of the way and tackles the turian assassin to the ground. Shepard spots one of the salarian assassins opening his omni-tool, likely to hit one of his squad with a tech power. Shepard snaps his pistol up and fires 4 times in rapid succession. The salarian stumbles back against a wall dead.

"Wrex, Ashley! Move up!" Shepard commands.

They cease their torrent of gunfire and start moving down the stairs to support the quarian and Garrus. Garrus though doesn't need to need help. He kicks the turian back and dives back on top of him, ramming the butt of his rifle into the turian's face, killing him quickly.

The final assassin, the other salarian, rises out of cover with a high powered handgun pointed square at Garrus's head. Suddenly the quarian rises out of cover and fires her shotgun, blowing the salarian's head to pieces. She lowers her shotgun with a sigh and looks at Garrus, somewhat confused.

He approaches her and starts to speak with her. Ashley and Wrex stop partway down the stairs and look up at Shepard.

"Commander." Garrus calls from the bottom of the stairs, turning away from the quarian girl.

Shepard nods at him then turns to Kaiden. "Stay up here and watch our six. Keep an eye out for that other assassin. The one with the black armor. We lost him even though he came this way. Stay alert he might try to ambush us."

Kaiden nods. "Aye, aye sir."

Shepard turns and descends the stairs, leading Ashley and Wrex toward Garrus and the quarian.

Shepard walks down the stairs and up to the quarian.

"Fist set me up!" The quarian fumes angrily. "Bosh'tet! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

"Were you hurt in the fight?" Shepard asks her, concerned slightly. If she dies for whatever reason then they're screwed.

The quarian shakes her head. "I know how to look after myself. Not that I don't appreciate the help. My backup seems to have run off… Who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy, an Alliance vessel." Shepard says gesturing to himself. "This is Detective Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, and back there's Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. We're looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."

The quarian sighs, somewhat relieved. "Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe."

"We can take her to the human embassy." Garrus suggests. "The ambassador will want to see this anyway… whatever _it _is."

Shepard nods. "Alright. Let's go. Lieutenant!"

"Sir?" Kaiden calls back.

"Come on! We're moving out!" Shepard calls back.

Kaiden starts to descend the stairs but he stops and looks back.

"What is it, Kaiden?" Ashley asks, frowning and tightening her grip on her rifle.

Kaiden moves back up the stairs and leans towards a garbage chute. He jumps back and points his weapon at it. "I hear noises from the garbage chute! I think there's someone inside, climbing it!"

Kaiden lunges forward suddenly and hits the empty chute button.

"Ah! What the fu-!" Everyone hears someone shout in surprise from the chute before it closes and the chute is emptied.

Kaiden starts walking down the stairs with a wide grin on his face. "Crisis averted. I took care of him."

"I like his style." Wrex grunts approvingly. "That was sort of funny."

Shepard walks forward toward the other end of the alley with everyone else following.

* * *

_Little do they know that they've just left behind the man who this is actually about. It's about Shepard. Oh, most definitely about Shepard. However, Shepard is an enigma. _

_But for the man, we know what will happen. We've planned his fate, haven't we?_

_Robert Jackson is his name. _

_And this "Man" as we have chosen to call him, is quite special, like Shepard. See, we have a plan for him. We've seen into his heart, his mind, his being, and we know who he is. Such sorrow, such misery in his heart._

_Longing for a past which can no longer be his. He knows this, so he chooses to turn away, to push forward, and to run from it. But if the path to the cavern is lit, and the cavern itself is not, how may one find his way through? It is tempting to turn back. But to do so, is to give up._

_We've seen. We didn't have such a direct hand in his control. However, We are all the same. _

_An odd experience, for him, don't you think? Changed, for the better. Like you. You and he are like kin. As you may put it, he is your friend. But We know better. He is you addiction. You long for one like yourself._

_Though you two are very different. He is eaten by sorrow, you by anger and malice. _

_And yet? You two, are so very much the same._

_You have seen, haven't you? Heard it, buried in there somewhere? You and he are connected, unified._

_Connected, unified. Perfection. More like us. _

_Comparable to us, however? Not even minutely._

_You are two, connected. We are each a nation, individual. Divided amongst ourselves, a living organism of thought and collective mind._

_We are Sovereign._

After a pause, Saren looks around the room.

"I do not understand your meaning." Saren says to the empty room.

_We do not expect you to. Know only that things are going as planned._

"Where are we going now?" Saren asks the room.

_Worry not, Slave. We know our path. Just simply… trust us. _

_The word. Like poison for the being. Trust. A mortal folly. A covet that one cannot have truly. _

_Fools._

Saren relaxes in the chair. "If this is all 'according to plan' as you say, then why did you tell me to try and retain my Spectre status?"

_Scanning…_

A jolt of pain rips through Saren's skull, causing him to jerk violently.

_Spectre. An appropriate idiom, perhaps. _

_It was not our responsibility. We told you to retain your Spectre Status for secrecy and freedom. We have realized that you have failed us._

Saren stiffens. "No… Please."

_Sleep… Slave._

* * *

**A/N: O.O Whoa. What will happen next? Find out... NOW, in the exciting continuation of MASSIVE SHOCK!**

**Anyways, I mentioned a few times that I have news to share with all of you. It's not bad news, but it's not really good news either.**

**Since I don't really know how to put this I'll just say it:**

**I joined the Army.**

**Yup. I don't know what this means for my story. I'm leaving for boot camp in July, and then AIT sometime in September or October. I won't be back until around March 2014.**

**So… I don't know what will happen to Massive Shock. I don't know how I'll make it work, or if there's even a way for me to make it work, but I'll try. But, it's not your job to worry about that, go ahead and read Chapter 3, enjoy please.**


	4. Ch 3: Splicer

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**Ambition is the last refuge for failure."**

**~Oscar Wilde~**

* * *

**Ch. 3: Splicer**

**9:44 PM January 3, 2183**

* * *

"Get down!" Shepard shouts, grabbing Tali'Zorah's wrist and yanking her down behind cover.

Tali scrambles back to her feet but stays low and behind cover. She doesn't want to risk getting shot again. Her last injury was a close one and thankfully she didn't have such a bad reaction as she thought she would. But the pain of getting shot is incentive enough to keep her head down.

Shepard growls through his teeth. "More assassins. I knew this was too easy."

Trapped now, after their fast transit vehicle malfunctioned due to sabotage and crashed landed, Shepard, Tali and Kaiden find themselves on an abandoned city street. Only their cab crashed however. The other two cabs carrying Ashley and Garrus and Wrex in his own cab are long gone. And to add insult to injury, their comms are being jammed.

Oh. And Kaiden was knocked unconscious in the crash so he's completely useless right now.

Shepard peeks over the wrecked car to look at his opposition. There are 20 assassins in good cover positions. Varied weapons ranging from pistols to SMGs to shotguns, with a few with assault rifles and two with sniper rifles. All in all, Tali and himself are completely outnumbered and outgunned. Only a miracle would save them now.

Or some sort of incredible coincidence.

There's suddenly a strange sight from across the field of battle.

The farthest most attacker flies up into the air. Then at the far side, a black armored soldier appears seemingly out of nowhere and snaps the neck of another assassin. He suddenly disappears into the shadows and Shepard loses him for a second. He spots him again, more than 10 yards away from his original position, flipping another assassin over.

He ducks under a rifle butt to his head and drives his fist home into the assassin's stomach. The assassin doubles over and the black armored soldier locks his head into a guillotine lock. He falls over backwards and disappears from view behind the cover.

The next part is confusing. The soldier appears another 10 yards away, attacking another assassin.

Tali, noticing the lessening level of gunfire striking their cover, pops out of their cover to look at what's happening.

"What's going on?" She asks confused.

Shepard frowns and shrugs. "I don't know. But it looks like someone's saving our asses."

The soldier cracks another assassin's head on the edge of the cover he was using. He then raises his hand at a group of enemies aiming to gun him down and with a snap and a strange flash of light from his hand the group of assassins catches on fire.

"Keelah!" Tali exclaims in surprise.

Shepard raises his eyebrows in fascination. The soldier's omni-tool didn't appear. Meaning his Incinerate tech must be modded into his armor. Interesting tactic.

An assassin charges the soldier, swinging at him wildly with his overheated rifle. The soldier ducks under the attack and a bolt of electricity arcs out of his hand into the assassin, sending him writhing to the ground. Shepard frowns. Again, the soldier's omni-tool didn't appear. His Overload tech is modded into his armor too?

Tali looks at Shepard. "Should we help him?"

Shepard shrugs. "I don't think he needs it, honestly."

The black armored soldier again seems to vanish and reappear on the opposite side of the last large cluster of assassins, more than 10 yards away. The soldier raises his hand and there's a bizarre spatial distortion that looks almost like a heat wave. Following it is a loud boom, and the assassins fly through the air, blasted away by some strange force.

"A mass distortion field generator?" Shepard frowns with impressed fascination. "That's some pretty high tech. This guy's good."

Tali suddenly realizes something. "Is that…? Nah! It can't be."

"What?" Shepard asks confused. "Who is that?"

Tali looks at him. "That might be my backup."

The last assassin is running for his life, towards the cab wreckage Shepard and Tali are hiding behind. He sprints as fast as he can, turning back to fire a few shots with his assault rifle at the black armored soldier chasing him.

Suddenly as the assassin turns to fire at him again, the black armored soldier vanishes and reappears closer on his other side. The assassin spins around to his other side to shoot at him again. The soldier vanishes again and reappears a mere 10 feet away from the assassin.

The assassin shouts in surprise and panic and starts running as fast as his feet will take him. Now the pair is only about 20 yards from the wreckage. The black armored soldier vanishes again and reappears above the assassin. He falls onto him, ramming his palm into the back of the assassin's head, driving him face first into the ground. They slide for a second before they both halt.

What appears to be some kind of blue meter for measuring something on the soldier's shoulder goes down by one tick, leaving 3 remaining out of 9.

The soldier keeps his head bowed and he is clearly fatigued. He gets to his feet slowly, picking up the dead assassin's Avenger assault rifle as he stands.

Shepard and Tali circle around the wreckage to meet him.

"Splicer?" Tali asks curiously as they approach.

The soldier looks back at the two of them. He's tall, with a slight brown tan and he fills his armor well. His dark brown hair is styled into a retro mohawk and the way he looks at the two of them with his light green and yellow eyes is sort of odd. He looks at them with a kind of inquisitive pride and wizened happiness with a distant glint of sadness. Like a teacher would look at his pupil as he graduates top of his class. His thin yet shapely and angular jaw along with sharp slender square chin is slightly offset by his shallow cheekbones which aren't very pronounced. But his tall slender nose, which is slightly crooked from a past break, is a compliment to his features. Overall his look is gruff and rugged. But if he had no scars his look would be more statuesque. But he does have quite a few scars, but none so disfiguring.

The soldier suddenly smiles. "Told you I don't leave jobs unfinished."

Tali fidgets and appears to be slightly embarrassed. "Sorry for doubting you I suppose." She suddenly rushes up and slaps the soldier, making him look completely taken aback. "But where were you! I nearly got killed by Saren's assassins back at Fist's bar!"

The soldier frowns. "I came back didn't I? I think what I just did kind of makes up for that! Cut me some slack, I fell into a garbage chute and got sucked out into a dump. I guess it was pure luck that it was nearby."

Tali shakes her head. "It doesn't quite make up for it but… we were in a tough spot just now and… I hate to admit it but if it weren't for you we'd probably be dead."

"That rescue was timed pretty damn well." Shepard says with an approving nod.

The soldier shrugs. "Thanks I guess… Are… Are you Commander Shepard?"

Shepard frowns and nods. "Yeah… Have you heard of me?"

The soldier grins wide and shakes Shepard's hand vigorously. "Yeah! I'm… I guess you could say I'm a fan. It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Splicer."

"Splicer?" Shepard cracks a small smile. "I've heard a lot about you."

Splicer seems to be thoroughly pleased with this. "Have you? I'm surprised. Not many people from off-Citadel know who I am."

Shepard grins a little and rubs the back of his head. "Actually… I haven't heard of you until today."

Splicer chuckles. "Oh… Well thanks… Eh. Sorry about the smell. I just had to crawl out of a dump so…"

"You might want to take care of that at some point." Shepard says with a nod.

Tali giggles. "Sucks for you two. I turned my olfactory ports off a while ago."

Splicer looks at her before shaking his head. "Shut up. I lost my guns in that stupid dump I'm not in a great mood."

"For the record though it didn't look like you even needed those guns." Shepard comments with an approving nod. "I caught a glimpse of you in action just now and I must say that I'm impressed. All those mods must've cost you a fortune."

"Uh… They weren't so expensive." Splicer says with a shrug.

"How many do you have in your armor?" Tali asks curiously.

Splicer glances at her before staying silent for a moment, seemingly thinking to himself. "Uh… I'd rather not go into it now."

Shepard nods. "Right. We're still in some danger here. We should clear out of here. We need to find what's jamming our comms and shut it down so we can get the others to pick us up."

Splicer nods. "I can help with that."

He opens his omni-tool and holds it up. "Oh wait…"

He lowers it. "Crap."

"What?" Tali asks confused.

Splicer shrugs. "I was trying to use a mod that is in my helmet… which I just now remembered is lost somewhere in that pile of garbage."

Shepard sighs. "Alright… Well. Tali can you and Splicer start looking? I need to make sure Kaiden is okay."

Tali nods. "Will do. Come on, Splicer."

Splicer nods and follows Tali as they start to check corpses and scan for jamming signals.

Shepard drags the unconscious Kaiden from the wreckage and lays him down. He checks his heart rate and for injuries. Looks like he just clunked his head a little too hard. Kaiden will be fine. Shepard looks up at the other two. He can't hear them from here but he can tell they're talking. Tali's mouth talking light thingy is flashing and Splicer is smiling and laughing.

"How long have they known each other?" Shepard mumbles to himself. "They look like best friends…"

"Commander!" Splicer shouts. "Found the jamming device! Shutting it down now!"

Shepard raises his hand to his ear. "Williams. Ash! You reading me?"

"_There you are, Commander."_ Ashley responds relieved. _"What happened?"_

"Our cab was sabotaged by Saren's assassins. We crash landed and were ambushed. Kaiden is unconscious from the crash and we were outnumbered and outgunned." Shepard explains watching Splicer and Tali as they approach again.

"_Were?"_ Ashley says curiously.

Shepard nods. "Yeah. We got some backup from Splicer."

"_Splicer?"_ Ashley says surprised. _"So he finally popped up, huh?"_

Shepard nods again. "Yeah. And he's one hell of a mercenary. His fought 20 guys unarmed and single handed. His armor has a lot of interesting combat mods."

"_Think he'd be useful to have along?"_ Ashley asks.

Shepard frowns and looks at Splicer. "Maybe. I'm not sure yet. So far, he's only proven useful in a fight. He's a merc. Doesn't have any ties to Saren, other than protecting Tali. So I don't really have a true reason to bring him along. But we can talk about this later. Come pick us up at my coordinates."

"_Aye, Aye. ETA 6 minutes."_ The line cuts and Shepard lowers his hand from his ear.

"Shepard." Splicer says approaching.

Shepard looks at him. "What is it?"

"I want to come with you. Help you stop Saren." He says, bluntly.

Shepard frowns. "Why? You're useful in a fight, I'll give you that. But I don't see why I should bring you along. Everyone else has a true reason. Even Wrex."

The mercenary grins at the sound of the name but it quickly dies. "Right. Well, I feel I should point out that the information that Tali is carrying… I've seen it. I know what it is."

Shepard frowns and he looks at Tali. "That true?"

Tali nods. "Yes. It was one of his conditions."

Shepard sighs.

"Saren is my enemy. I've killed his men and I helped you. I know too much so he'll be after me too. There are people I care about on the Citadel and I figure that the farther away I get from them the safer they'll be. So… taking me along will actually put me at ease. I won't have to keep an eye over my shoulder and one on my friends. I can keep my focus on stopping Saren." Splicer says, staring Shepard down.

Shepard sighs again and nods. "Yeah. That makes sense. Alright. You're in… But let me tell you now. I know you mercs, I've worked with your kind before. I know most of you have an authority complex… if you ever disobey or go against my orders or try to take charge or anything… you're out and on your own. I'm in charge here. As long as you work with me, you're working by my rules. Go out of line and there'll be consequences. Got it?"

Splicer frowns but nods. "Absolutely Commander. You won't have any trouble from me."

* * *

**Later…**

My name is Robert Jackson. The year is 2183. I was born on December 20 in the year of 1994. Now, now… I know what you're thinking. How can such a handsome young man such as you be 189 years old? Well for your information I'm actually only 24. No, it's not because of healthy living. It's because on my 17th birthday, in the year 2011, I was somehow transported to the underwater city of Rapture in the Bioshock universe in 1962. I fought for my life for 6 years in the vain hope that I'd someday make it out and be able to start my life over again. And as it turns out, I had that chance. On December 20, on my 23rd birthday, Rapture sunk into the abysses of the Atlantic Ocean. At the time, I thought it was my fate to join it, and I accepted that. But somehow, something familiar that I'd felt only once 6 years before drew me again, but this time it brought me here to the Citadel. To Mass Effect.

And here I am.

I'm in and I'm part of this. I'm a true part of Mass Effect. I've waited more than a year for this and finally the events of Mass Effect 1 have come and I'll be at Shepard's side through thick and thin, battling Saren and the geth to save the galaxy. Why? This is all a result of my actions over the last year. In the past year, I've made a life for myself here. I've become a new person. People call me the most noteworthy mercenary on the Citadel and one of the most recognizable people in Citadel Space. They call me Splicer. I am the leader of a team of three of the best damn mercenaries around. But all the fame, the notoriety and the money can't compare to this. Because…

This is FUCKING AWESOME!

I don't even care that I smell like garbage and I lost my guns, this is still freaking awesome! And I managed to impress Shepard with my plasmids and he seems to think they're armor mods. I think that's for the best, at least for now.

As we wait for the cab to pick us up, I keep an eye on Shepard. He's different than I thought he'd be. For some reason I thought he'd look like default male Shepard, but he's not even close.

In an odd way, this Shepard is something different. His look just doesn't look… custom? In a way I guess you could say he looks like an NCP. More fine-tuned. His appearance is far more… what's the word… sophisticated than it ever could be in the games. It's odd. But he's not odd looking. He's actually rather handsome… Ew… You got to stop thinking like that Rob.

He's taller than I am by a little bit. He's pretty tan, which is impressive considering he spends most his time on a space ship. And it's not the natural kind of darkness, but a real tan. His black hair is cut into a short military crew cut, with light stubble on his face as well. His high cheek bones and slender curved nose accent his icy blue eyes which have an odd look to them. Just the way he looks at you is strange, it's sort of suspicious but friendly at the same time. He has a sort of curved brow that creases a surprising amount when he furrows it or frowns. He has a number of scars as well. Including one on his forehead that cuts a little notch out of his hair sort of like the default male Sheploo face. But with his current haircut it's barely noticeable.

"Splicer." I hear a most familiar voice say from behind me.

I look over my shoulder at Tali'Zorah nar Rayya with a repressed grin. Back when I used to play the games she was one of my favorite characters. A kind-hearted and sweet young woman who hides a strong shotgun-wielding badass side, it was natural for me to be a Tali-mancer back when I used to play the games. Her mystique and natural allure were what attracted me. I credit my hopeless romantic side to romancing her in the games, but I think I've long since grown out of my fan boy state. Now she's just Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, a strong, brave quarian woman who'd do anything for her people with a dedication and loyalty to her heritage that should be taught in schools; and a possibly great friend.

Though it feels like I've known her forever, in reality I've known her for only about a day. In the game, Tali found information regarding the rogue Council Spectre Saren Arterius and the attack on Eden Prime, the start of the whole series. His agents followed her from the ends of the galaxy trying to keep her silence, but they just drove her here to the Citadel. To me. She came to me looking for a body guard, a second. She needed to ensure her deal with the Shadow Broker and her meeting with Fist went smoothly. Obviously, I knew it wouldn't so I decided to tag along to make sure she stayed safe and to try and worm my way into Shepard's team. I did this because of the many things I've learned over my time here, the main one has to be that nothing is happening according to canon. This is reality, it isn't a game anymore. Literally anything could happen and I'm not about to let Tali die because I _assumed_ fate was going to play out as it was supposed to. Good thing I had Tali show me the information Saren's been after, otherwise I might not be here right now.

"Yeah Tali?" I ask her, rising from my kneeled position.

Tali nods at the dead assassin. "I need you to help me move this guy. He's a heavy one."

I scoff and walk over to her. I lift up his torso while she picks up his legs. "Really, Tali? He's not heavy at all."

"That's because we're doing this together." Tali snaps back leading me over to the pile of corpses we're collecting.

"Hardly." I snap back. "You can hip fire a high-power stockless shotgun but you can't carry one dinky turian?"

Tali gives me a look. "You're damn right I can. Just be glad I didn't get to this guy, otherwise we'd be cleaning up a much bigger mess."

I laugh a little. "That's a pleasant thought. I'm glad we're going after geth, I'll have to polish my armor a lot less."

"Actually…" Tali interjects as we toss the corpse onto the pile. "Geth have an internal coolant cross lubrication system that runs through their whole chassis. It flows through their 'bodies' like blood using a complicated system of pressure controlling pumps. So in the simplest way of putting it they do bleed."

"Oh right I forgot." I blurt out. Nice one. Let's see how you get out of this you idiot.

Tali looks up at me with her bright eyes narrowed, either in confusion or suspicion. Oh great. I'm screwed. "What do you mean you forgot? How could you know about that?"

I grin subconsciously; trying to play it off like it's nothing obviously. "It's not like you think. I saw some vids of Eden Prime and they had a couple shots of dead geth and I remember seeing them lying in pools of what looked like milkshakes."

"What are milkshakes?" Tali asks confused.

I could make a dirty joke but those are normally good to keep to myself and laugh about later because most people I tell them too either don't get them or don't like them. "They're a kind of human treat. It's a cold drink that's really sweet and delicious."

Tali tilts her head to the side. "Hm. That's interesting. The only thing quarians can drink is water."

That sucks. "What you can't even flavor it or anything?"

Tali narrows her eyes again and shakes her head. "Not that I know of. Besides what good is that?"

I shrug. "I don't know just…"

I hear a light groaning nearby and I snap to look at Kaiden Alenko who stirs. Tali and I rush over to his side.

"Commander! Shepard!" I shout to him. "Ka- Your friend is waking up!"

Kaiden opens his eyes blearily and he blinks a few times in discomfort. He presses his palm to his forehead and groans loudly. He looks over at Tali and smiles slightly, but when he looks at me his eyes widen with panic and his brow furrows with alarm.

He throws his palm from his forehead into my chest, sending a powerful biotic pulse around my body and launching me back like a bat with a baseball.

I hit the ground after flying through the air for a few seconds, rolling. I slide and stop myself with my feet, using the sudden stop to help propel myself back onto my two feet. I raise my hands ready to defend myself. I don't really want to fight Kaiden, but if he insists on biotic blasting me across streets then I won't hesitate to drop him to the floor.

"Lieutenant!" Shepard barks angrily. "What the fuck was that?!"

Kaiden stumbles up to his feet, still glowing with biotics. "Sir, he was in the alley. He was climbing up that garbage chute! He's an assassin, one of Saren's lackeys!"

Shepard shakes his head with exasperation. My eyes widen with sudden realization and I point a furious finger at him.

"You?!" I shout loudly. "You were the one at the top of the shaft?! You ass! You emptied it with me inside and sent me on a 2 kilometer pitch black roller coaster of garbage and tetanus! Not to mention it was a vacuum powered trip; I could hardly breathe!"

"Alright, alright." Shepard holds his hands up. "Settle down. We're on edge here. Alenko you need to sit down and get it together. You cracked your head pretty good earlier so you're not the sharpest tool in the shed right now. This is Splicer. He's a mercenary who was hired by Tali. He wants to help us stop Saren. Splicer, you need to drop it. After you get a shower you won't care."

I roll my eyes and shrug. "I guess you're right Commander."

Kaiden walks up to me, clutching his ribs. When he stops he looks me up and down with a frown. After an awkward silence he thrusts a hand out to me. I look down at his out stretched hand. This seems more like a peace offering than anything else. I shake it and offer him a nod. Why do I get the feeling he doesn't like me? He's got nothing to dislike me over, in fact I'm the one who should be mad at him. Of course I'm not.

I always liked Kaiden. Oh, Alenko. You and your Jump Zero stories. They always entertained me. Why wouldn't they? Who doesn't like hearing about full biotic kicks to the face? And, despite being a mild whiner, he was always really badass and cool in the games. And I'd like to be friends with Kaiden. And if that proves a challenge then so be it. I like challenges.

I take his hand and we share a firm shake. "Name's Robert Jackson but most people just call me Splicer."

"Kaiden. Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko." Kaiden says returning the nod and releasing my hand. "You're a merc right?"

I nod. "Yeah."

Kaiden blinks. "Right. Alright…"

I frown. "Something you want to say?"

Kaiden glances at the ground then back up at me, with a contemplative expression. "Mmm… No."

I blink. Yeah right. "Alright then."

There's a dull humming and a cab flies in overhead. It descends slowly and we all gather closer to it. It touches down and the door swings open. Garrus Vakarian exits alone and walks up to Shepard.

In the games, Garrus Vakarian was undoubtedly at the absolute top of my favorite characters in Mass Effect. Sure he's tied with like 5 other characters, but he's still got a place up there. And even though, I always treat him with respect and admiration whenever we happen to cross paths, he definitely doesn't. Our past is… a rocky one to say the least. He had an instant disliking to me when I caught a criminal he'd been after for a long time and though we have had plenty of reasons to both respect and hate each other, we've maintained a sort of balanced love/hate relationship.

That became pretty clear after the Battle of the Citadel, half a year ago. Together with the help of some of our friends, we fought off the Blue Suns and rescued the Citadel. We fought side by side a lot and he had to trust me for that. But after the Battle, he sent me to prison for multiple counts of unsolicited murder. So to be honest, I'm not totally sure how I feel about him now. I think he's really cool and all, but I also don't like how he treats me like an ass. Maybe someday I can gain his trust, respect then maybe even his friendship. Until that day though, I'll have to play my cards carefully around him.

"Commander." He nods respectfully. "Good to see you're in one piece."

He raises an eyebrow and looks over at the pile of assassin corpses. "Damn. You guys really showed Saren who he's messing with."

Shepard nods. "I'd like to take credit for that but that's all Splicer's handiwork."

Garrus freezes in place. He slowly looks over at Shepard. Then he scans the area and eventually his eyes fall on me. I smile and wave.

Garrus groans and rubs his face. "I'm just going to shoot a guess out there and say he's tagging along. Am I right?"

Shepard nods. "Yes he is. Is that an issue?"

Garrus shakes his head. "Nope. No problem."

Shepard narrows his eyes. "Everyone in the cab. Let's move out."

We all pile into the cab. Somehow I get jammed into the backseat between Tali and Kaiden. If Tali's hips weren't so damned wide and if Kaiden's fat ass quads weren't so damn bulky this wouldn't be so bad.

"Kaiden, dude." I protest, trying to claim some of my own leg room. "Do you mind not trying to use my knees as a leg rest. I need some space here."

"Well there isn't any." He responds. "Maybe if you wore lighter armor you'd find you had a lot of room."

I scoff. "Uh yeah. That's not happening anytime soon. In my line of business anything lighter than what I'm wearing is hazardous."

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask." Shepard says turning to look at me from the passenger seat. "Since we're a bit safer, what sort of armor mods do you have?"

Crap not this again. "Like I said earlier, I'd rather not get into it."

Shepard looks clearly unsatisfied with my response, narrowing his eyes. "Fine. But I've been curious about that meter on your left pauldron. What is that?"

I look at my left pauldron. Meter? Oh. He's talking about my EVE hypos. They glow brightly so I guess you could say they look like ticks on a meter. Let's see. What bullshit should I make up for this? Battery charge? Uh…

"They're huge syringes. He pumps himself full of narcotics." Garrus announces loudly.

Wow. Thanks you butt hole.

Everyone in the cab turns to look at me with the exception of Garrus.

"Care to explain?" Shepard asks either me or Garrus.

"Uh." I start but Garrus jumps in quickly.

"I used to be curious about that too, but I hit a scene after Splicer one time and I found one of his syringes discarded at the crime scene. I tested it and found his DNA all over the damn thing. Not to mention an unidentifiable narcotic. All our techies could find out about it was that it's an organic compound and some kind of metabolic super-booster. And that it was highly toxic. I'm talking the kind of toxic that gives people seizures and strokes and cardiac arrest all simultaneously and instantly. And I've got to say that I'm more than a bit curious about it. Want to enlighten us, Splicer?" Garrus glances over his shoulder at me.

Great. Thanks Garrus. Well… how should I handle this?

I'm about to blurt out some bull crap excuse about how I've got a crippling spinal fluid deficiency and I need this crap to live when Shepard surprises me by holding a hand up.

"I'm sure he's got a valid reason but this is neither here nor there right now, Garrus. We can settle this later. For now we need to focus we need to get Tali to the Alliance Embassy ASAP." Shepard glares at him. "We clear?

Garrus looks at him. "Yes Commander. Sorry I- … I'll focus on the mission. No setbacks."

"No grudges either." Shepard mumbles. "We can't afford distractions like this. If we can prove Saren's a traitor we can find him and make him answer for his crimes against humanity. This is too important for this. Besides it's not like it really matters in the grand scale."

I… I don't know what to do in this sort of situation. Shepard just defended me against everyone else when clearly he doesn't have any trust for me, nor does he like my obscurity. At least he respects my privacy though. Though I'm sure this'll come to bite me in the ass later on…

* * *

**Later…**

I hop out of the cab in the Council Chambers, joining Shepard as we approach the stand. I'm damn glad to be out of Udina's office. I zoned out of that conversation in a matter of seconds. It's like… word for word exactly the same. It's boring as hell.

At least now we hit something cool. Shepard's admission to the Spectres.

Tali rushes to follow us as we hurry up the stairs toward Captain Anderson.

After we arrived on the Presidium earlier, we weren't able to meet up with Ashley or Wrex. Apparently Anderson put Ashley on babysitting duty for Wrex much to her chagrin and Wrex got tired of waiting and wandered off. We showed Tali's audio file to Udina and Anderson and after all the spiel, Udina went off with Anderson to talk to the Council.

But what was new to me was that Udina instructed me specifically to tag along to the meeting with the council. Tali has to come. Garrus insisted on coming too. And Kaiden doesn't want to leave the Commander with non-Alliance types so it looks like we almost have…

Oh shit.

Urdnot Wrex pushes himself from the wall and approaches us.

Peas and rice… That's Wrex like I've never seen him before. In person. Goddamn he's huge. Not as big as Ramlok; no krogan is as big as Ramlok. But goddamn is Wrex intimidating as hell. He was definitely at the top of my list of favorite characters of the game. He was the coolest, most badass member of the group. I can't wait…

"Shepard." Wrex grunts upon reaching us. "Finally you guys made it up here. I've been waiting here forever. What's going on… Who's this?"

He looks at me. Fuck. He's scary.

"I'm Splicer." I respond.

He scoffs. "Splicer huh? I've heard of you."

Alright! I grin wide. "Have you?"

He scoffs again. "I've heard you do charity work and are more of a celebrity than a merc. Mercs don't get recognized. That's just the way things work. You're recognized. You're no merc."

Ouch. People don't seem to like me so far.

"Commander!" I hear a familiar voice call from behind us. I turn around to see Ashley Williams running up to us.

Ashley Williams. I always had conflicting opinions of her. On one hand, she was a kind, raunchy, badass, loving and all around awesome person, on the other she was a conservative, snooty, competitive, bible thumper. But I still liked her overall.

Shepard turns to her. "Williams. Where have you been? I thought you were supposed to be watching Wrex."

Ashley shrugs. "Lost track of him. He can be sneaky when he wants to. A tree to life twinkle-toes."

"Try saying that again." Wrex growls.

I choose to ignore his poke and continue to follow Shepard to the podium.

"Come on." Anderson says as we approach. "Udina's presenting the quarian's evidence to the Council."

"'_Eden Prime was a major victory!'_ Saren's distinct voice booms over the loud speakers. _'The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit!'_

'_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.'" _Benezia coos. I shiver despite the fact that it's like the umpteenth time I've heard that.

"You wanted proof?" Udina boasts, boldly pointing a finger at the Council. "There it is."

"This evidence is irrefutable." Sparatus admits loudly. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to make him answer for his crimes."

Tevos turns to Sparatus. "I recognize the other voice. The one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" Shepard asks.

"Matriarchs are powerful asari who've entered the final stages of their lives. Revered for their wealth of wisdom and experience, they often serve as guides and mentors to my people." Tevos explains. "Matriarch Benezia is an extremely powerful biotic and she has many, many followers. She will be a formidable ally for Saren."

Valarn shrugs. "I for one am more interested in the Reapers, whatever they are. What do you know about them?"

"Very little." Anderson responds. "From the geth memory core, we learned that they were an ancient race of machines that vanished after they wiped out the Protheans."

Shepard approaches a step and commands the audience with his presence. "The geth worship the Reapers as Gods. They believe Saren is the prophet to their return."

Anderson nods. "We believe the Conduit is the key to their return. Saren's looking for it, which is why he attacked Eden Prime."

"Do you even know what this… 'Conduit' is?" Valarn asks us.

Shepard shakes his head. "No. But Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers. That's bad enough."

Sparatus scoffs. "Unlikely. The existence of the Conduit… of these Reapers is conjecture. Pure fantasy. The very notion of a race of hyper-intelligent death machines is preposterous! It's simply inconceivable. We have to act on facts."

"I tried warning you about Saren before and you refused to believe the truth before. Don't make the same mistake." Shepard almost seems to threaten them.

This is cool.

Sparatus shakes his head. "You aren't looking at the bigger picture here Commander. Saren is a menace. We know this. Saren has an army of geth and one of the most influential people in the galaxy in his pocket. We know this as well. What we know is that Saren has the capability to cause chaos in the galaxy at his fingertips."

"You have to understand Commander. We can't base our decisions on pure witness reports. We need evidence." Tevos says, attempting to rationalize all this. "You came through, and brought us evidence of Saren's treachery and we thank you greatly for it. But we see no evidence to refute the existence of the Reapers."

"Obviously, Saren's using the myth of the Reapers to control the geth, and perhaps even Benezia." Valarn says forlornly. "He's using the legend to bend them to his will."

I'd actually have to agree with the Council here. Sure I know the Reapers exist and Shepard is right in the long run, but from their perspective this is all just boo hockey conjecture.

"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all civilization in the galaxy." Shepard exclaims loudly. "If Saren finds the Conduit it'll happen again!"

Sparatus shrugs. "Saren's a rogue Spectre on the run. He no longer has access to any of his former resources. He is stripped of his position."

"That isn't good enough!" Udina shouts angrily. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse, send your fleets in!"

"A fleet cannot track down a single man, Ambassador." Valarn snaps back at him, clearly displeased by his tone.

Udina sighs. "A fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems!" Sparatus shouts at him. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over your vendetta about a few human colonies."

"I can find him." Shepard announces loudly. "I can take Saren down."

Tevos nods. "The Commander is right. There is a way to stop Saren without any fleets or armies."

Sparatus reels with surprise. "No! Absolutely not! It's too soon! Humanity is not ready with the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres!"

Shepard steps forward again. "Councilors. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I've faced Saren and his geth and I exposed him as a traitor. I've proven myself and I am ready. Humanity may not be but I am."

The Councilors look at each other.

They each nod to each other, Sparatus a little more slowly. They each type something into the consoles in front of each of them.

Tevos looks up at us. "Ambassador Udina, I assume you've complied your prospective candidates and reviewed our recommendations as well."

Udina nods with a scowl. "Yes and our best option is Shepard and you know that."

Valarn shakes his head. "No. The Alliance's best option is Shepard. We have differing opinions here, Ambassador."

"No!" Udina shakes his head and barks loudly. "Absolutely not! I will not have… any other candidate! You know Shepard is the absolute best option!"

Sparatus looks at Tevos. Tevos gives him a look then shakes her head. After a moment's hesitation, Sparatus nods too.

Tevos turns back to us. "Commander Shepard please step forward."

Shepard looks at Anderson and Anderson nods him on. Shepard approaches another step and faces the Council, with his back straight and his head held high.

There's a murmur from the crowd and with a slight grin I glance around at the audience. This is cool. This was one of the coolest moments in the game. I actually smiled slightly when I played this part of the game. And that's saying something, especially considering I usually had a blank stare on my face when I played games.

After the noise from the crowd dies down a little, Tevos looks at Shepard directly. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen." Valarn lectures, crossing his arms and dipping his head slightly. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol." Tevos adds. This all seems oddly rehearsed. "The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

When they put it that way, it sounds like being a Spectre sucks.

Sparatus holds his head up high and looks down on Shepard. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and our last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

Tevos smiles slightly. "You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Shepard bows slightly. "I'm honored Councilors. I won't let you down."

"Good. Because your first assignment begins immediately." Valarn says approvingly. Heh, it'd be funny if he said something other than finding Saren. That'd be a real kick in the crotch. "We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

Shepard nods confidently. "I'll find him and I'll make him answer for his crimes."

Tevos nods. "This meeting of the Council is adjourned. Ambassador, we need to discuss some things with the Commander and his team."

Udina nods and the Council leaves through a door to the side of their stage. Shepard turns to Udina.

"Hm. We've got a lot to do, Shepard." Wow. That's the first thing you say Udina? "You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies… Anderson! Come with me! I'll need your help to set all this up. Shepard, meet us at the Normandy when you have the chance."

Udina and Anderson leave quickly.

Shepard turns to us and I scoff. "What a prick."

"Hmph!" Wrex grunts a laugh. "Bastard didn't even thank you."

Shepard shrugs. "Whatever. Besides, until I've found Saren, I haven't done anything. Come on."

"Right behind you, Commander." Kaiden responds.

Shepard moves through us and starts leading us back to the elevators.

"Excuse me!" Tevos calls from behind us. "Commander! I wish to speak with you."

Shepard turns around to look at her. He nods to her then looks at us. "Wait here."

He walks off towards her. I… I don't remember this from the game. Is this new?

After a few seconds, Shepard walks back up to us. "She just wanted to congratulate me. She seemed a little bugged by the fact she said she wanted to speak with Udina but he ran off."

Ashley shrugs. "Maybe he forgot."

Shepard shrugs too. "Maybe. But she had a good idea. She said that it'd be a good idea to let some of the civilian people in the group time to gather their things and say their goodbyes to their loved ones. Once we leave we may not come back for some time."

Garrus nods. "That's a good point; I do have some loose ends to tie up."

Shepard nods in agreement. "Alright then. Everyone, take care of what you need to take care of and meet us at the ship. Watch your backs. We need to leave ASAP so don't take too long."

Shepard walks off and leaves us all alone.

"I'd better head off too. I need to take care of some things." Garrus mumbles walking off a second later.

Wrex sighs. "I don't… I guess I'll just go to Chora's Den and see if I can scrounge some liquor from the bar if the cops aren't there yet."

Wrex stomps off toward a Fast Transit Terminal.

I stretch. "I ought to go too. I need to talk to my colleagues and friends and pack a few things."

Tali looks at me. "Mind if I come with you? I'd feel safer than I would alone."

I shrug. "Doesn't bother me. Sure, why not?"

"Splicer!" Tevos calls to me as I turn to leave. "May I have a word?"

I frown. Okay, this definitely wasn't in the game. Oh… wow of course it wasn't you idiot.

"Wait here for me." I say to Tali as I walk over to Tevos. What could she possibly want to talk about?

"Yes Councilor?" I ask once close enough. "What can I do for you?"

Tevos smiles slightly. "Would you be interested in a little work, Splicer?"

I frown. "Like a job?"

She nods. "Precisely. I regret that Udina wasn't here for this conversation. There were things I needed to discuss with you two."

Us two? What does that have to do with anything? "Can I ask why?"

Tevos nods. "You may. You see… Udina submitted a detailed list of who he wanted to be the first human Spectre. It wasn't a long list and Shepard was the best choice. But we made a few additions."

"Additions?" I raise an eyebrow.

Tevos nods. "Yes. We wanted you as the first human Spectre."

I blink. Uh… I don't know how to respond to that, honestly. "Uh… hm. How flattering. I'm touched that you'd consider me, I suppose. But why me? I'm no one special."

Tevos smiles. "Don't undersell yourself. You're a strong warrior with a kind spirit. You'd be perfect for the position. None the less, Shepard was a better pick."

"Then why add me to the list if you knew Shepard was the best choice?" I ask curiously.

Tevos smiles again. "Because you're not Alliance. Everyone on Udina's list was Alliance military. Being freelance, you hold no ties or loyalty to the Alliance other than your genus. You were a better option for us. Politically either option would have be suitable. However Shepard was a better choice for the Alliance because it would strengthen them more. If you were chosen, the Alliance's strength would grow little to nothing. Your obligations would be to no one other than us."

Really? Me? A Spectre? If I was offered, I wouldn't have accepted. I don't want to be a Spectre. It sounds like a crappy job. "I'm honored Councilor. But Shepard deserves this more than I do. Why are you telling me this?"

Tevos smiles again. "Because we know that Commander Shepard's first loyalty is to the Alliance not us. He'd listen to their judgment and instructions over ours and that is not what we need in a Spectre."

"Then why make him a Spectre? I'm afraid you're beginning to lose me, Councilor." I say grinning slightly.

"We need a liaison. A… proxy. A middle man. You can get the job done Splicer. You and I know that better than anyone." Tevos leans in closer so that our conversation can't be heard. "The Council is willing to hire you. Think of this as another job. We will give you instructions throughout your mission and you will provide reports on the mission progress along with Shepard's conduct in your search for Saren. You will work directly for the Council, do you understand?"

I nod. "Yes but what's in it for me?"

Tevos smiles further. "750 million credits."

If I was drinking something I would've spat it straight onto Tevos's face. "Holy- That's awesome! What's the catch?"

Tevos shrugs. "No catch. Just capture Saren and make sure it gets done the way we want. You need to be the whisper in Shepard's ear, his first advisor. We can't trust Shepard to put our prerogatives over those of the Alliance. But we can trust you."

"Why?" I ask curiously. It's not like I've really done much to earn that.

Tevos smiles. "Don't doubt yourself! You saved the Citadel once before and you saved my life personally. And… well… don't take this the wrong way but as a mercenary your trust can be easily bought."

That kind of stung. She thinks I'm a just an honorless mercenary! … But I do like money. Maybe it just comes with the occupation?

Oh well. I'm in for a big payday! I can't wait to tell Zero and Jada!

I step away from Tevos. "It's a deal."

I shake her hand and walk away from her. 750,000,000 credits! If I manage to pull this off I have something to look forward to! I'd better keep this to myself though. I don't like the idea of having to go behind Shepard's back

"Hey Splicer." Ashley calls mockingly. Oh God here we go… "Do you and Tevos have a thing?"

I frown and shake my head. "No. What would make you think that?"

Ashley shrugs. "It looked like she had her tongue in your ear that whole conversation. Your face was priceless the entire time too."

Not entirely priceless. Chaching! I scoff. "Uh no she was just talking to me."

"About what?" Kaiden asks me.

I decide to mess with his head and I frown at him. "… I don't like your tone. I don't see how it's any of your business."

Ashley laughs. "I guess they do have a thing going on."

Wow, that backfired. "Whatever. Tali want to go?"

Tali nods and we head towards the elevators.

I'm in an emotional limbo right now. On one hand, I'm super freaking excited for the events of the next few months. On the other hand… I'm dreading not being able to see my friends every day, the people I trust most.

I sigh audibly. We'll see how this goes…

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Splicer's back! And it's in first person again! Don't expect that to change very much. I'm a liar, It'll happen a lot actually! Yay!**

**Leave a review, please! See you next Friday! Oh yeah, I decided I'm posting on Fridays! YAAAAY!**


	5. Ch 4: Goodbyes

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."**

**~Dr. Seuss~**

* * *

**A/N: Alright, so for this chapter, I'm going to do something a little odd, maybe a little dull. But what's going to happen is that the major characters of the previous story are going to get a new refreshed description, explaining a little what happened in the last story as well as a basic refresher on what they look like, in case you all forgot.**

* * *

**Ch. 4: Goodbyes**

**11:42 PM January 3, 2183**

* * *

I walk up to my apartment door with Tali in tow, pausing to frown back at the corpses in the hallway being bagged by C-Sec.

"What was that about?" Tali asks staring at the officers.

I shrug. "Hell if I know…"

I shiver suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Tali asks noticing me strange outburst.

I frown, confused. "I don't know… I feel like I'm being… watched. I don't know. Let's just get this over with."

I unlock my door and walk inside…

Huh. For some reason I was expecting someone to be here. That's… That's a first. The one time nobody's in my place.

"Are people usually in your house?" Tali asks looking at me.

Goddamn inner monologue. "Yeah. For some reason my friends always hang out here. There's usually at least one person here at any given time… Anyone home?!" I shout. I frown again.

"Your friends must be very dear to you." Tali says walking over and sitting on my couch.

I sit down next to her with a sigh. "What makes you say that?"

Tali looks at me. "You said earlier that there were people you cared about here on the Citadel. I figured you meant family, friends, or someone you love."

I scoff. "Well… you're part right. I've got friends I love here… No family though."

Tali tilts her head slightly. "Well… If you care about them so much you should go see them."

I nod. "Yeah… You're right. You don't mind waiting here do you?"

Tali shrugs. "I guess not… Though I wouldn't entirely feel safe alone."

I nod in agreement. "Makes sense. I'll call my teammates here. They'll keep an eye on you while I'm out."

Tali nods. "Okay."

I open my omni-tool and contact Jada.

"_Hey Splicer."_ Jada responds. _"What's up?"_

"Jada. I need you to come down to my place with Zero." I say standing and walking over to my bedroom.

"_Alright. I've got him with me here so I'll just drag him along. Something's come up?"_ She asks interested.

"Yeah. I've got a contract and I need to talk to you two about it. Get over here ASAP." I say, grabbing my backpack from my closet.

"_Got it. See you in a bit." _Jada hangs up the call and I turn off my omni-tool.

At that moment I hear the front door open. Wow… when she said a bit I figured she meant like 10 minutes or so… not 3 seconds.

I walk out into the main room and I smile at my stupidity. It was just Alex, not Jada.

Alex smiles at me. "Hey Splicer."

I smile back at Alex Silva without any kind of hesitation. I met her almost a year ago under some unique circumstances. She saved my life during the Battle of the Suns when the Blue Suns tried to take over the Citadel in the name of the Batarian government. The second I met her, I knew she was something different. First off, she's gorgeous. In my opinion, at least. She's unfortunately short, but that suits me just fine. She's tan of complexion with black hair cut into a short pixie cut, which I loved about her. Short hair on a girl? Not only is it daring, it's sexy and not many people can pull it off nor have the balls to do in the first place. And paired with her green eyes and the freckles dotting her nose and cheekbones, she looked like a goddess to me. It wasn't long before I found myself falling for her. And not long after that, we were dating and in love. But, my profession was too much of a factor in our relationship and Alex broke up with me because she was in constant danger, just for being with me. In the past couple months I've known her as many things: as the girl with the nice legs, as the girl who saved my life, simply as Alex, as my friend, as my girlfriend, and now as my ex. What next right?

"Hey." I say still smiling.

Alex smiles back and frowns a little, glancing at Tali. "Who's… Who's your friend?"

Right, other people don't automatically know who Tali is. Damn I'll have to get used to that. "Alex, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She's a recent acquaintance. Tali, this is Alex Silva. Another friend of mine."

Alex gives me a look and Tali walks over to shake her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Tali says.

Alex smiles and nods. "Likewise. Splicer, what's going on? Garrus, Commander Shepard and some Alliance soldiers came here looking for you and some quarian… No offense."

Tali shrugs. "None taken."

Alex smile slightly and awkwardly. "And I saw you, and you, and Garrus at Commander Shepard's Spectre admission ceremony. What's going on?"

I rub the back of my head, looking for a place to start. "Um… well… The Council made Shepard a Spectre to hunt down a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius. He's responsible for the attack on Eden Prime and… well… Garrus, Tali and I are joining him. We're going to help him find Saren."

Alex gapes at me stunned. "That's… That's surprisingly noble of you Splicer."

I frown. "What? I don't do noble stuff?"

Alex shrugs. "It's just uncharacteristic is all."

"Dude." I protest. "You're killing me here."

"Oh sorry." There's a small silence. "Um… Are you leaving the Citadel?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah… I might be gone for a while."

"You might not come back at all?" Alex asks after a stretch of harsh silence.

I downcast my eyes for a second. "Uh… yeah."

Just then, the door opens and Jada and Zero walk in, dressed casually.

My two best friends in the world: Jada and Zero.

Zurin Sageaus was formally a detective for C-Sec, working in the homicide department. But after the Battle of the Suns and my arrest, Zurin, more commonly called Zero, tampered with the evidence of my trial, keeping me out of prison. I can't thank him enough for that. He threw away his entire life's work just to help me. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him for that. Funny thing is though that I have no real idea of why he did that. He's not really one for talking about himself much. I find that particular quality of his personality a bit annoying. But I'm glad he's working with me now. He's one of the most powerful biotics I've ever seen and I have yet to come across one more powerful than him. Besides, I think he likes working with me more than at C-Sec. He was often discriminated against and was treated like an outsider for his appearance. Simply because he was barefaced, meaning he wears no distinctive face paints, and because he's only got one mandible. Is it his fault that he was born under certain parents? Or that he was injured and disfigured? Apparently at C-Sec it is.

Ironically Jada, one of my closest friends, used to work for one of my greatest enemies, the Blue Suns. They tried to have her killed after failing to protect their drug operation on the Citadel and she turned to me for help. I'm glad to have her around to. She's been genetically modified to be incredibly strong and tough, though you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at her. She's about as tall as I am, with olive toned skin and hair cut down to a short buzz cut. She's very, very tone but not very bulky which is what really throws people off about her power. Not to mention the fact that her drop dead good looks drop people's guards. That's Jada's biggest advantage in a fight: surprise mixed with shock and awe. She's nearly impossible to kill, so it's a real benefit to have her on my team, even if she's a little brash.

"Hey, Splicer." Zero says with a slight frown. "I saw you on TV with Commander Shepard. What's going on?" He sees Tali and frowns. "Who's this? I thought I saw her on TV too."

"Yeah. And what were you saying about a contract earlier?" Jada says.

I nod. "Yeah, Tali these are my teammates, Zero and Jada. Guys this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Uh Tali could you do me a favor and get me another helmet from that room at the end of the hall there?"

Tali shrugs. "Sure."

She walks off down the hall and disappears in my armor room. Good now I can talk about the contract.

"I'm going to make this fast. The Council wants to hire me to be their Ace in the Hole. I'm going to keep a close eye on Shepard for them and report to them what he's doing specifically." I inform them quickly, making sure Tali can't hear.

"That's a little shady isn't it?" Zero asks frowning. "You're almost betraying his trust."

"Almost? You're totally going behind his back and sharpening the knife on his armor." Jada scoffs. "What stops you from stabbing him in the back?"

I nod in forlorn agreement. "I know… But it's good money."

"How much is the Council giving you? It better be worth it." Jada asks.

I want to see how they'll react to this. "When Saren has been apprehended, Tevos promised me 750,000,000 credits."

They're both silent for a while.

"750,000,000?" Zero repeats wide eyed with disbelief.

"750,000,000." Jada repeats licking her lips.

"That's a lot of money." Alex mumbles. I jump. Where did she come from?

Zero nods. "This could be big for us. Do what you've got to do, Splicer. We'll be rooting for you. How long do you think you'll be?"

I shrug. "A month maybe?"

Jada frowns. "It'll be damn quiet here without Splicer."

I grin. "Well sure seeing as how I'm the only one who lives here in my apartment."

"That's not what I meant!" Jada protests angrily. "We'll just miss you is all."

I smile. "Thanks that means a lot. Listen guys I've got to pack could someone call Nelyna, Nata, Ram and Vaga and get them down here so that I can say goodbye in person?"

Zero nods and opens his omni-tool. "Sure thing. I'll get them down here ASAP. When do you have to leave?"

"ASAP." I respond.

"Aw. Vaga will be so disappointed. He won't be able to throw a going away party." Jada jokes. Though now that I think about it that seems true.

Alex laughs and grabs my wrist. "Come on. I'll help you pack."

I allow Alex to lead me back into my bedroom where she sets about folding clothes.

"What're you going to need?" Alex asks while opening my closet and rummaging through it.

I frown. "Uh… Not much. A couple articles of clothes. Not a lot though. I'll be back on the Citadel before long. I'll pack my ADAM and my EVE."

"Get to it then." Alex says, still buried in my closet.

I open my weapons locker and I take out a large ADAM canister. I pack that into the foam lined interior of my metal suitcase, along with 27 EVE hypos, not including the 9 I have in my armor now that I reloaded. I close and latch the case and place it on the ground. I turn back to Alex who tosses me the backpack, loaded lightly with clothing.

"Oh!" Alex exclaims suddenly. "I forgot something."

She runs into the bathroom and comes out a second later, tossing me a small plastic container of mousse. "You'll need this. I know you can't live without it."

I catch it and I grin as I drop it into my backpack. "You know me too well."

I place my backpack down on the ground and face her. I give her a small grin and I raise my arms, offering her a hug. She smiles and takes it, wrapping her arms around my torso and hugging me tightly.

Her touch relights a cold melancholy feeling in me. A bittersweet, butterfly feeling memory. I savor the touch, holding Alex tightly. There are things that I want to say, but I'm not sure I can say them.

"I'll miss you." Alex simply says.

Hell, I'll just say it.

"Alex, there are some things I need to say before my official goodbye with everyone else out there." I say, my heart beating rapidly. "I uh… I know I shouldn't say this but… I still have feelings for you Alex. I don't see how I couldn't, really. But I want you to know that there's a good chance I'm not coming back from this. So before I leave…"

Alex kisses me on the cheek making my heart leap and my words to become slurry in my brain. She pulls back and shakes her head.

"Don't." Is all she says.

I look down at my feet, feeling like an idiot. I take my things out into the front room.

When I look up I see Nelyna, Ram, Nata and Vaga all waiting for me. They smile and I do my best to smile back. God that hurt.

Nelyna runs up to me and hugs me tightly. "Splicer! I'm going to miss you so much!"

I smile slightly. "Thanks Nelyna. I'll miss you a lot too."

She backs from me and smiles again. I'm glad I'm friends with Nelyna. She's one of those people you just can't help but love because she's so awesome. Not to mention she's the only one of my friends that existed in the Mass Effect games. I met her a long time ago, before the Battle of the Citadel, even. I protected her through the Battle and we've been close friends ever since.

Nelyna steps away from me to make room for Nata who hugs me gently, resting her head on my chest. "Splicer. It's going to be boring with you gone."

I scoff. "You're just a shut in. It's sad that I'm the most interesting thing in your life."

Nata hops back and punches me in the face. "Shut up, you bosh'tet!"

Nata'Acie nar Rayya is my oldest friend on the Citadel. She was the first person I met when I first got here. Though if you think about it, I guess you could you could argue that Nelyna was the first person I met. However, Nata is definitely my oldest friend. She's a quarian on her Pilgrimage to find something of use for her people. However, she kind of threw that out the window I guess when she met Zero. They're perfect for each other and nowadays they're inseperable.

I block a few more blows with my hands and eventually she gives up her onslaught.

Vaga walks up to me and I clap my hand into his, giving him a bro hug. And he deserves no less. Vaga's my bro, I've known him a long time and apparently I'm his number 1 wingman. I met Vaga Kotka about a year ago, a little after I met Nata. He's the one who helped me get my career as a merc started, and he handed me my first paycheck. It's all thanks to him that I've come this far and that I'm not about to stop.

Vaga smirks and nods. "You sure you have to leave today? I've got a date with triplets and I want you along."

I shrug. "More for you?"

Vaga smiles. "Good point. I'm sure going to miss you."

I nod at him. "Likewise."

Finally Urdnot Ramlok, the biggest, worst krogan I've ever met picks me up and hugs me in a bone crushing embrace. "Goodbye friend! You will be missed!"

Ram was involved in my very first contract. When I first saw him, I thought he was the coolest person I'd ever seen, ever. But when I first spoke to him, I thought he was the wimpiest person I'd ever met, ever. He's a total sissy. His adopted son, Hirvio is cooler and he doesn't even speak. And apparently Hirvio is Wrex's son, so maybe that's something to talk about later. Ram releases me and I rub my arms and take a deep breath.

I look over all of my friends and smile as best that I can. "I think it's time I got going. Tali? You ready?"

Tali gets up from the couch and stands by my side. "Ready when you are. It was nice meeting you all."

She walks over and walks out the door. I follow and stand by the door. I look back at my friends and offer two things before I leave: A smile, but maybe a world weary one, and one word.

"Bye." Is all I say. And I look at Alex who just came out of my room when I say it. I don't really mean to do that. It was more of an untimely coincidence. But It was still sort of directed at her.

* * *

"Your friends seem nice. I saw another quarian there. Who was that?" Tali asks as I run to catch up to her.

"That was Nata. She's my oldest friend on the Citadel." I respond, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

Tali gives me a glance. "She seemed nice."

I frown at her. "She punched me and you think she's nice? That says a lot about your judge of character. But you're right she is really nice."

"That's nice. She's your oldest friend?" Tali asks looking at me. "Are you closer with her than with the rest?"

I shake my head. "Nah. I'm pretty close with all of them actually."

"Are you… I don't know what humans call it… but… Romantically linked with any of them?" Tali asks, pausing to think of a way of putting it.

I frown at her. "That's a pretty personal question but… yeah."

"Which one?" Tali asks looking at me as we exit the building and make our way to the cab terminal.

I sigh and rub the back of my head with my free hand as I pay for a cab. "It's uh… pretty complicated. I _was_ in a relationship with the human girl."

"The tall one?" Tali asks as we enter the cab.

I scoff. "Jada? No. Not in a million years. The shorter, slightly paler one, Alex."

"Oh, her." Tali nods. "Anyone else?"

Well aren't you nosy. I frown at her again. "Why are you so interested?"

Tali shrugs and looks away. "Mm… No reason."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Tali."

Tali looks at me then shakes her head. "It's not important. You wouldn't care so much."

I roll my eyes and give up. Maybe I'll press her for information later but I may forget to. I doubt it's direly important and I have more important things to worry about. But my chief thought is about Alex. I can't help it, but… what a bitch!

I'm going out to risk my life and save the galaxy! I'm sitting there, putting myself out in the open like that, telling her that I may not come back, that I may die out there! I needed her to know, for her to be sure that I still had feelings for her. All I wanted was for her to admit it too. But what did she do?

She fucking shot me down! What a selfish bitch! Is it so hard to admit that you still have feelings for someone? Is she so weak that she can't accept the fact that she may still have feelings for me?

And now I have to go into my mission, doubting myself. I feel like such an idiot! She doesn't care about me at all, does she?

I hide my feelings well though, remaining stoic throughout the cab ride… Unless my inner monologue failed again and I just said that all out loud… I look over at Tali slowly who stares out the window lazily. Okay… she's not uncomfortable looking or tense so I guess I kept that all in my head.

Good.

"Sorry?" Tali asks looking at me. "What's good?"

I sigh and rub my face tiredly. "Nothing."

"Are you excited?" Tali asks cheerfully.

I smirk. "Hell yes! I'm going on a space adventure! Who wouldn't be excited?"

Tali nods excitedly. "I know! I can't believe this is happening. A month ago I was jury rigging an engine back together using scrap metal and today I'm going to be saving the galaxy in one of the most advanced starships in the galaxy."

I grin. "Well hold your breath because it looks like we're here. Ready to see your new home?"

Tali takes a deep breath and nods. The cab lands and we exit and enter the elevator to the Normandy's hanger. I glance over at Tali who fidgets and bounces on her feet, likely out of anticipation or excitement. On the elevator ride up, I feel a weird tingling on my skin and in the back of my head. I feel like I'm being watched. I've had this feeling since we got to my apartment. I glance around nervously. There's no one in here except Tali and I. Strange. I'm probably just imagining things.

The doors open and Tali rushes out while I bend to grab my ADAM and EVE case. Tali runs up to the railing and leans on it, almost flipping over it to get a good look at the ship.

I jog up to her with a big smile. She's cute, like a little kid at a zoo. I drop my case and look over the railing at the ship.

"Keelah this ship is amazing!" Tali exclaims leaning over the railing.

I shrug. It's no SR2.

"Look at those engines! I wonder how fast this thing can go." Tali leans so far over the railing her feet come up off the ground. "And check out the javelins on its- Whoa!"

I grab Tali's leg just as she starts to fall over the railing. "Got you!"

I pull her back over the railing one armed and I help her to her feet.

Tali glances over the edge of the railing. "Keelah. I got a little too excited there."

I scoff. "A little? You almost fell to your death."

Tali chuckles awkwardly. "Heh, yeah. I guess that's two for you if you're keeping score."

I chuckle. "I'm not but it might be fun to keep score. We'll see who wins by the end of the mission."

"What do I get if I win?" Tali asks crossing her arms.

I think for a while. "Uh… bragging rights not enough?"

Tali shrugs. "It'll do."

Suddenly the door to the Normandy's airlock opens and Commander Shepard comes striding out wearing the casual uniform of the Alliance.

"Hey, there you two are." He greets, pleasantly. "You two are the last ones here, I'll show you guys around."

Well, he seems far less serious. I nod and pick up my stuff and Tali runs down the docking ramp to the airlock.

"She seems excited." Shepard mumbles walking with me toward the airlock.

I chuckle. "I'll say she almost did a front flip off of the railing trying to get a good look at the ship. This is like a dream for her, most likely."

Shepard cracks a tiny smile. We walk into the airlock and it starts decontamination. Ugh… it's just like in the game. I forgot it does this.

I sigh with impatience. "Does it always have to do this?"

Shepard nods but Tali talks first. "Yes, if foreign contaminants or pathogens get onto the ship it could cause crew wide illness due to the unfamiliarity with the area's ecosystem."

I blink at her.

Tali sighs. "People might get sick because that's not where they're from."

I nod in understanding. "I see. Makes sense."

The decontamination finishes and the door to the rest of the ship slides open.

"Welcome to the SSV Normandy." Shepard announces happily. "This ship used to be under the command of Captain Anderson but he resigned and command of the ship was turned over to me under Udina's authority."

Tali and I follow Shepard out of the airlock and into the CIC.

"This is the Command Deck." Shepard says, leading us down toward the galaxy map. It's all exactly like I remember it. "When you have a chance, introduce yourselves to the ship's pilot, Joker. He's always got something to say."

I hold back a snicker. That's putting it lightly. Shepard leads us down to the stair way but stops and points at the Briefing Room. "That's where we'll do our mission briefings and debriefings. Follow me."

He leads us down the stairs and onto the Crew Deck. "This is the Crew Deck. Med Bay is on the port side, make sure you check in with the CMO Karin Chakwas for a full physical examination when you have the chance. My quarters are that room on the starboard side, feel free to come by if you want to chat, but I'm usually in there only to sleep."

Shepard walks into the elevator leading down to the Cargo Hold and Engine Room. Once the doors open he walks out and turns to us. "Here's the Cargo Hold and back there is the Engine Room. Do you guys have any questions?"

Tali looks over at it. "Can I go take a look at the ship's systems in the Engine Room?"

Shepard cracks a very small smile. "Go right on ahead. Ask for Chief Engineer Adams and tell him I told you to get him to tell you about the ship's systems."

Tali nods and runs off immediately. I grin and watch her go. I turn back to Shepard who shakes his head with a small grin.

I grin back. "Is there a place where I can put my stuff?"

He nods and points at the lockers near Ashley's station. "There's a locker with your name on it over there. When you're done go talk to Chakwas… what's in the case?"

I look down at my ADAM and EVE case. Think of a palpable lie! "Oh this? I'm… I guess you could say I'm an amateur geneticist and chemist. I perform a lot of experiments and this is just some of my equipment."

Shepard frowns. "Interesting. I didn't know that about you. I'll show you where you can set your stuff up."

I nod and he leads me back into the elevator.

"I hope you don't mind." Shepard starts turning to me. "But I did a little background research on you and your career. I must say, I'm thoroughly impressed."

That's… quite a compliment coming from him. I smile slightly and nod. "Thanks. That means a lot. But I'm nothing special."

Shepard shrugs. "Don't be modest. You fought heroically and valiantly at the Battle of the Suns. Not to mention all the things you've done since then. I read somewhere you're the target for lots of assassination attempts."

That's an understatement. "Yeah… I'm pretty unpopular in the criminal underworld."

Shepard scoffs. "I'll bet. If half the stuff I read about you is true, then I can imagine why people would want you dead."

I frown. "Wait… true? What do you mean?"

Shepard looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "You don't know then? A lot of the stuff about you is speculation. Most of the facts about you are too hard to find because they're buried under conspiracy and theories. You do so few actual press interviews that some people think you've got some kind of horrible dark secret."

Hm… I don't think I do. I mean there's stuff I don't want to get out. Like the fact I'm a mutant or that I'm from another universe. But it's not like I'm actually a Yahg in disguise or something. The doors to the elevator opens and Shepard leads me out toward the Med Bay.

"What other kinds of stuff do people assume about me?" I ask Shepard.

Shepard shrugs. "Lots of stuff. You're really a subject of interest for people on the Citadel. Kind of like the equivalent of the Loch Ness monster for people living around the lake."

Nice analogy. I'm the Presidium Lake Monster. Good to know. Shepard walks through the Med Bay and to the door at the other side. He opens it and leads me into the large medical store room. "You can use this room for your science experiments."

Uh oh… This is Liara's place. I guess I can stay here until she comes but I don't want to change anything I don't have to.

"Uh, thanks Shepard." I say nodding. "This is great."

Shepard nods. "Good. I'm glad you find it suitable."

I nod and walk over to the large desk Liara usually sits at. I place the case on it and turn back to Shepard.

Shepard leans on the wall and stares at me, frowning. I frown back slightly.

"Something else you needed Shepard?" I ask curiously. He's kind of creeping me out right now.

He blinks and is silent for a moment. "No. Not right now. I'll come by to talk to you later. We'll be getting underway in 2 hours. If there's anything else you need to take care of shore side, I suggest you do it now. I don't know when we'll be coming back after all."

I nod. "Thanks I'll keep that in mind."

"Alright. I should go." Shepard straightens and turns and leaves. The door shuts behind him and I'm left alone.

I take a deep breath and sit down on a crate nearby. Finally. Here I am. I'm on the Normandy, on my way to start a new adventure.

This is going to be interesting.

* * *

**Epilogue…**

"Infiltration accomplished." Arachne says into her comm, allowing her soundproof helmet to remain silent. "Undetected."

"_Good work." _Her team leader Scorpius replies. _"Plant a tracker and a bug. Get off before the ship leaves."_

Arachne nods. "Roger. Wilco. Suggestions on where to plant?"

"_Behind shelves. On the inside of the wheel of a chair. Somewhere people don't normally look."_ Kraken suggests.

"_Or… you could just kill him and be done with it."_ Myrmidon jokes.

"That would be simpler." Arachne nods in slight agreement.

"_Just plant the bug and get- Shit!"_ Scorpius shouts in alarm. _"The ship has started take off procedures! The Normandy is taking off. Forget the bug, get off that ship now!"_

Arachne is about to panic but keeps her cool. "No sir. I'm staying. I'll hop off on their next stop and we can continue from there."

"_No Arachne!" _Scorpius shouts in anger. _"We're a team. We're the team. We're Typhon! We've never split up and I'm not about to do that now!"_

"_Scorpius!"_ Myrmidon growls. _"Get a hold of yourself. This is the best way!"_

"_He's right."_ Kraken says. _"This is our only viable option."_

Scorpius sighs in frustration. _"Do not be detected, Arachne. The minute you find out where you're going, you tell me. Understand?"_

"Understood sir." Arachne responds, lowering her hand from her ear and twisting her arm to adhere herself to the ceiling better.

"_Good luck, soldier."_ Scorpius cuts the comm channel.

Arachne sighs deeply as she watches Splicer work from mere feet away. Arachne sighs deeply again with frustration. She's now stuck on the Normandy. All she can do is hope her training and experience and powers will help her remain undetected.

She smiles at the thought.

As if that was any question.

* * *

A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading guys! I just wanted to point out that this story has a legitimate cover! It's by Skyline19, check out his stuff on DeviantART! He did a great job depicting Splicer, and I know you can't see it but there's actually more to the image. Unfortunately I had to crop it to fit, but I hope you guys like it, I definitely do!

See you next week!


	6. Ch 5: Walk About

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened."**

**~Maya Angelou~**

* * *

**Ch. 5: Walk About**

**7:03 AM January 4, 2183**

* * *

I fall out of my sleep pod, landing flat on my face, my hair a mess.

"Yeah… They'll do that to you." Ashley laughs stepping over me after exiting her own pod.

"Sleep…" I groan; my face still plastered on the floor with drool escaping my mouth. "Pods… Suck!"

Garrus stumbles out of his own pod. "Ugh… You got that right, Splicer."

"How'd you fit in there anyways?" I mumble, my words slurred like I'm drunk. "You and your turian body shape."

Garrus rolls his shoulders and fishes for his shirt inside the pod. "I made it work. Unlike Wrex who was far less interested on trying to fit in one of these."

I roll up and sit cross legged on the floor and rub my eyes. "Where did he sleep?"

"On the mess hall table." Wrex shouts from across the room rolling over on the table, still in full armor.

"Ew! Wrex! We eat there!" Kaiden exclaims as he walks into the room, already fully dressed.

"Don't worry about me sleeping here again." Wrex growls sitting up on the table. "It was damn uncomfortable. I was more comfortable sleeping on a pile of rubble on Tuchanka."

Wrex hops off the table, making the whole deck shake and he walks sleepily over to the elevator.

Kaiden shakes his head and sighs, walking over to Garrus and me. "Splicer, get on your feet. We've got work to do."

"Negative, Staff Lieutenant, Sir." I respond in a sarcastic tone getting to my feet as I say it. "I'm like Wrex. I don't take orders from anyone but myself or Shepard, and I doubt Shepard needs or even wants me to do anything."

Kaiden frowns. "Quit giving me an attitude. I'm in charge of the staff and I need to get these sleep pods emptied and prepped for the next shift in 10 minutes."

I sigh. "Sorry, Kaiden. I guess you could say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Tali's sleep pod opens and Tali hops out and stretches. "Ah! I don't know what you're all complaining about. I slept great!"

I scoff. Liar. I know she has trouble sleeping. "Shut up. You know those things are hideously uncomfortable."

"Consider how much worse it is for me." Garrus says pulling his shirt on. "I have to literally wedge myself in there. But I guess it's more comfortable than sleeping on the mess hall table."

I chuckle half-heartedly mostly out of politeness. I drag myself over to the elevator trying to stretch out my aching back. I walk inside it and press the button to go to the Cargo Hold. It's annoying that my locker is down there when I'm hanging out up on the Crew Deck for now.

Speaking of which, it looks like I'm going to be out of there pretty soon, seeing as how we're headed to Therum to get Liara first. Shepard told me I'd be on the squad. He wants to assess all of our skills for the missions to come so this ought to be interesting.

I walk over to my locker and I yank on some random clothing, my eyes seemingly half open. I envy people like Tali or Wrex. You know, people who don't need to change their clothes or people who just don't care to.

I walk back over to the elevator to ride it back up. This is going to be a long day…

* * *

**Later…**

I dump a fistful of some white powdery chemical I found in a jar into a tray of ADAM out of sheer boredom.

…

That's not good.

I fumble to clean up the frothing pink slime that is produced. Crap.

"Um, uh…" I take off my shirt to continue to clean the slime but somehow more is produced. "Oh gosh. Where's this coming from?"

I look around frantically and rush to grab a crate. I open it and dump the slime producing tray into the crate. How is it doing that? I close the crate quickly and put it down on the floor. I back away from it quickly and watch it closely.

I use my shirt to clean up the rest of the slime on the desk. What the crap is this stuff? I take the jar off of the shelf and examine it. Huh… Okay.

I hear the door open and I turn around to look at Shepard. He furrows his brow at me.

"What's going on?" He asks gesturing at me.

I look down my shirt which is dripping with pink slime in my hand. "Uh… Experimenting."

Shepard frowns and approaches poking my shirt and rubbing his fingertips together. "On what?"

I shrug. "Stuff. I got bored."

Shepard frowns and sits down on a crate. I toss the shirt on the desk and sit on the desk across from him.

"Something I can do for you, Shepard?" I ask him after a short silence.

Shepard nods. "Yeah. I had a couple of questions for you."

I shrug. "Shoot."

"I was curious about your armor. It seemed pretty advanced. Anything in particular it can do?" Shepard asks, leaning forward onto his knees.

Seeing as how he still thinks my plasmids are actually armor upgrades I'm going to work off of my lie. Though I guess I'll have to tell him eventually. I fully expect my luck to run out one of these days. When the cat's out of the bag I guess that'll be a long discussion, for now I'll keep things short and obscure.

"Um… Well I guess I'll test you a little. What do you think I've got?" I ask picking my helmet up off of the desk.

Shepard seems to ponder for a second. "Well… I definitely noticed a few interesting things. I saw you use an Incinerate tech mod and Overload tech mod without the use of your omni-tool. Does that mean they're modded into your armor?"

That'd be Incinerate and Electro Bolt. I'll be ambiguous. I nod. "That's about right. What else you got?"

"I noticed a mass distortion field generator." Shepard says raising his eyes to me.

I have no idea what that is. I nod with an impressed expression. "Okay. Anything else you caught notice of?"

"Well, this is one I couldn't figure out." Shepard runs a hand over his scalp. "I noticed that you seemed to disappear in thin air and reappear instantaneously a fair distance away. I juggled the thought of a tactical cloak in my mind but you reappeared too far away too quickly to be humanly possible. So what is it? Teleportation of some kind?"

I smirk. "Uh… I'm going to let you figure that one out. For now I'll keep that little secret between myself and my armorer."

I widen my eyes with slight panic as I notice the box Shepard is sitting on is starting to leak a pink slime.

"Sorry Shepard but I've things to take care of. If you want we can talk later." I say quickly ushering him out of the room.

Shepard looks confused but doesn't resist. "Alright. Well, be ready to go in 3 hours. Joker says our ETA is in 4 hours."

I nod. "Got it alright see you later."

I close the door quickly and rush over to the crate. Alright, what am I going to do with this? I find a very large crate and crack it open I look inside and find it is empty. I drop the small crate oozing slime into it and shut the lid quickly.

Heh he. I'll just continue this cycle as necessary. What to do now? I guess I could go talk to everyone… But I don't want to leave this room. If I do, Chakwas might force me into a physical. I hate physicals. Besides, I don't know the modern day process, how do I know that she won't like… bio-scan me or something, revealing my DNA mix-up.

Eh, I'll risk it.

I walk out of the room.

"Ah, Splicer. I've been waiting for you to be done with whatever it is you were doing in there." Chakwas says upon seeing me. "Are you ready for your physical? I already have everything ready. Just strip down to your skivvies and we can get started."

Damn. "I'm not totally familiar with naval jargon, is skivvies naked?"

Chakwas laughs and pulls on a pair of rubber gloves making me wince. "No, not quite. It's just down to your underwear. That'll be fine."

This won't be pleasant. I shiver in discomfort. "Alright…"

**Later…**

Well that was invasive. I readjust my pants as I ride the elevator down to the cargo hold. I figure I'll talk to everyone from the bottom up.

The elevator opens. Alright, who first? Ashley, Wrex, Garrus, Tali, or the as of yet unnamed Requisitions Officer?

… Eh… I guess I'll start with Ashley.

I walk over to Ashley as she inspects parts of a dismantled assault rifle at a table in the back corner of the Cargo Hold. I stand next to the table and wait for her to notice me, though she continues to focus solely on the dismantled assault rifle, occasionally rubbing oil onto the parts she examines or cleaning them with a cloth.

I clear my throat rather loudly.

Ashley glances up at me then looks straight back down at her work. "Hey."

I clear my throat again but sort of awkwardly and unconsciously this time. "Uh hi."

There's a pretty lengthy stretch of silence.

"Something you want or need or whatever?" Ashley asks.

I rub the back of my head. "Uh, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Splicer."

I hold a hand out to her and she turns to me, wiping her hands off on her uniform trousers.

She shakes my hand and nods. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. So is it just Splicer or…?"

"Most people call me Splicer. The name's Rob Jackson. But… Splicer is fine with me. Most people call me that anyways so it doesn't really bug me." I respond shrugging.

Ashley nods. "Noted. Call me… Ash, I suppose."

Hm. "'I suppose?' Don't trust me then?"

Ash nods. "Yup."

…

Ouch.

But I suppose that's appropriate. I barely know her after all.

"Don't take it the wrong way." Ash says giving me a look. "But I barely know you. That's all."

I'm right for once… It's oddly unsettling.

"I mean, we're going to have to be fighting together, and in battle you need to trust your teammates right?" Ash explains as she continues reconstructing her rifle. "If I need to trust you, I guess I should start now."

Aw, that's nice.

"But." Ashley looks up at me with a stern expression. But? "I'm going to say this now. I don't trust you. I don't like you either. You're a merc and if there's anything I trust less than a merc, it's a human merc. Mercenaries are generally aliens, like that krogan, Wrex, over there. But when a human is a merc? That's a bad sign. I've never once met a human merc that hasn't tried to off me, so I'm not about to turn my back and take my eyes off of you. One move, one slip up, and I won't hesitate to blow your head off of your shoulders."

I blink at her, stunned. Holy shit. She REALLY doesn't like me, does she? "… Noted."

"Good." Ashley turns her attention back to the disassembled rifle. "Something else you needed?"

Not after this. I shake my head and walk away towards Garrus. "No. I'll talk to you later."

Maybe.

I approach Garrus, slightly put off by my conversation with… Ash. That almost disturbed me. She sounded like she totally loathed me. I hope I can gain her trust in time.

Garrus types into the console next to the Mako, as I approach him, Garrus glances over his shoulder at me. He looks back at his console for a moment, then turns around to face me.

"Splicer. Something I can do for you?" He asks, blinking.

"I thought we could chat." Hopefully this one goes a little better.

Garrus shrugs. "Sure. I'm a little busy right now, but it can wait for a moment I suppose."

I frown. "If you're preoccupied, I can come back later."

"It's fine." Garrus says, with the slightest hint of hostility. He seems to notice it too and pauses for a second before continuing to calm his tone. "We can talk for a bit."

I nod and lean over slightly to look at the console. "What are you doing, by the way?"

Calibrating, most likely.

"Checking my e-mail." Garrus replies blankly, blinking.

"… Oh. Alright." I shrug. "… Uh… How're you?"

Garrus sighs. "Listen, if you don't have anything important to talk to me about then I'll get back to what I'm doing."

"Wait." I say quickly. "There is something I wanted to say."

"Get on with it then." Garrus blinks again.

I hesitate. Is now really the time?

I sigh. "Never mind."

Garrus rolls his eyes. "Talk to you later then."

I sigh and walk away. I want to tell him that I don't harbor any hard feelings towards him, but judging on the way he treats me, I doubt he'd register it or even acknowledge it above a "Whatever." He doesn't like me. That's clear as day. But he's going to have to trust me, otherwise there's just going to be trouble.

Okay… two bad conversations out of two conversations

I approach Wrex. Let's see if I can get at least one good conversation of three.

Wrex glances at me as I approach. Right before I open my mouth to say something he scoffs and holds up a hand.

"I'm going to stop you right there." He says, not meeting my gaze. "I see what you're doing and I already had a lovely brain picking with Shepard. And you should know that I don't want to have another one of these. I saw your little talks with everyone else in the room and I'm going to save you time and breath. I'm going to establish this now: I don't like you. You're a fake. A name. A figure head. There's no such thing as a well-known merc. No, let me rephrase that, there's no such thing as a merc well-known for a good thing. The only thing that mercs are known for are bad things. Examples:

"Weyrlok Parlthix, krogan, Butcher of New Haven. Blew up a monorail and killed 37 people for 500 credits. The money paid for the explosive. He did that for kicks.

"Threx Paralask, batarian, used a custom designed mass accelerator device to send the Upitan meteor to destroy the volus colony of Orlan on the planet Yyerla.

"Raston Red, elcor, crushed the 3rd asari council diplomat with his bare hands. Currently the strongest sentient creature ever recorded.

"Erid Torr, salarian, reprogramed the automated security in the Zephr Corporation headquarters to kill all of the personnel inside. No survivors.

"Teshala'Kerr nar Moreh, quarian, stole a design for an experimental mass accelerator device that was instrumental in the destruction of an entire colony and lived the rest of his days as an assassin.

"Frea Shak'Kolto, batarian, Baron of the Badlands, infamous assassin of the 5th turian councilor. Best sniper even seen.

"Julaud, Hanar, king of the Third Arm mercenary bureau, the trainer of the best drell assassins the galaxy has ever seen. Still is.

"Nazala Trytan, former Pirate Queen of the Border worlds, killed countless people, enslaved just as many, disappeared with a vast fortune. Don't let the title fool you, she was no pirate. She was a merc."

Wrex pauses and closes his eyes looking down at the ground for a second.

"I've heard of you. But that in no way means that I respect you. And it sure as hell means that I don't trust you. In my book actions speak louder than words. Prove yourself to me, and I may find you worthy of my trust. Become better than me, and maybe you'll earn my respect. Now get out of my sight."

Alright, going zero for three then huh? I sigh and walk away towards the engine room. Maybe I'll play it safe and talk to someone who actually seems to like me.

I enter the engine room and spot Tali over in the corner. Alright. Let's see if can go one for four.

"Hey Tali, got a minute?" I ask walking up to her.

Tali looks over her shoulder at me then back down at the console. "Actually I don't I'm quite busy right now. Maybe later?"

Okay… still going with the zero for three then. "Uh… Alright, come by when you have a minute then… Tali?"

She remains silent and thoroughly focused on her work. Okay…

I leave and enter the elevator to head back up to the Crew Deck. Well that definitely could have gone better. Who's left? I can talk to Kaiden. Joker. Pressley I guess. Shepard again if I need to.

I exit the elevator and walk over to Kaiden.

"Hey Kaiden." I say nodding to him.

He looks up at me. "Hey. Something got you down?"

"What makes you say that?" I ask frowning.

He shrugs. "You sound like you want to die."

I scoff and grin. "Thanks. But seriously, how're you?"

He shrugs. "Fine I suppose. This is exciting, you know?"

I nod. "Damn straight. So listen, I've had some conversations with the other people on the crew and none of them seem to like me."

He shrugs as he types into the console he stares at. "What about Tali? She seems to like you."

I nod. "Yeah… but she didn't have time to talk. Everyone else I talked to gave me a little speech about how they don't trust me or don't like me or both… what about you? Do you trust me?"

He furrows his brow and shrugs. "Not really. Not yet. I think you're alright though. I mean, I don't trust mercs, but I haven't really talked to very many of them. All of the mercs I've come across have shot at me so I guess we're off to a good start."

I chuckle. "I suppose, but technically our start was you sending me through a garbage chute so if you think about it, it wasn't that great."

Kaiden gives me a look and shakes his head. "You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Not likely." I respond with a smirk.

"Well, let's hope you at least won't bring it up as often. So yeah. I don't know how I feel about you yet. But we'll see I suppose." Kaiden shrugs.

At least he's giving me a shot. "Why don't you trust mercs?"

He shrugs again. "Same reason I don't trust civvies to get the job done. They're allegiance is to themselves. They've got no boundaries, no restrictions. They have their own prerogatives, and their loyalties lie in their next paycheck. They're lawless, mostly, and most of them are trigger happy assholes… no offense."

I shrug. "Can't say I entirely disagree with you there."

He grins. "Right. Well, maybe prove me wrong."

I nod. "Sounds good to me. Alright, I'll talk to you later."

"See you." Kaiden nods as I walk away.

Alright! One of four, for the win. Next, Joker! I walk up the stairs to the CIC and I start heading to the cockpit.

Joker was one of my favorite characters in the Mass Effect series. He always had something to say and he was awesome for it. Alright, let's see how this one goes.

"Excuse me, Mr. Moreau?" I say from behind his chair.

He looks over his shoulder at me and spins his chair around to face me. "Yeah? Who're you?"

I smile and hold a hand out to him. "Name's Splicer. Well… Robert Jackson, but everyone calls me Splicer."

He nods and shakes my hand. "I hear you. I'm Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. I fly the ship. Though for some reason everyone calls me Joker, even the guys who're lower rank than me… I don't rightly know why. In my opinion, it's a form of insubordination but what're you going to do?"

I laugh a little. "I can't imagine why they'd call you that."

He shrugs. "So, you're a merc, right?"

I nod. "Yeah. Have you heard of me?"

He nods. "Yeah, I was on leave on the Citadel about the time you caught that serial killer before I got stationed here. Fascinating thing too, I actually was friends with a guy down at C-Sec who assisted in the arrest. He said you looked like a badass in your armor, this was back when nobody knew what you actually looked like. If he thought that was awesome, he should get a look at you now. Off to save the galaxy." Joker shakes his head. "Man. One hell of a ride we're in for huh?"

I nod. "Yeah. I can hardly believe that I'm here."

He nods. "I can see that. I mean I've had my share of crazy assignments. I'm sure you did too."

I nod in agreement. "You're right there. Once, I had to fight my way out of a cargo container full of rabid Varren."

"Damn, how'd you get out of that one?" Joker asks.

I shrug. "I don't know. I almost didn't. Thank God those frozen peas were there."

Joker frowns. "… What?"

"What?" I ask slightly confused. "Oh the frozen peas thing? Yeah… That's not something I like to talk about."

"Story for another time maybe." Joker nods and turns his chair back around. "I better get back to work, you'd think there'd be fewer things to avoid in a place called 'Space' but you'd be surprised. We're going to get to Therum in about half an hour. If I were you I'd get ready… but then if I were you then I probably wouldn't exist… but then if I were you and I wouldn't exist then you wouldn't exist… Hm… This is going to take some thorough thought. I'll talk to you later."

I walk away. Alright 2 of 5. That's not bad. I head back downstairs to the Crew Deck and to the storage room at the back of the Med Bay. I walk into the room and stop suddenly when I notice Tali… going through my stuff.

I clear my throat loudly.

She jumps and turns to look at me.

"Oh. Hi." She says turning to me.

I close the door and walk over to the desk. "What're you doing?"

"Just looking at the stuff you have here. What is this stuff?" Tali holds up a container of ADAM.

Uh oh. "Oh uh, just some chemicals I like to play around with."

I take it from her and put it in my ADAM case.

"Was there something I could do for you?" I ask sitting on the desk.

Tali shrugs. "You said you wanted to chat."

Oh yeah. Wow she actually remembered that. "Uh sure. I just wanted to talk a little."

Tali shrugs again. "Sure. I had a couple of questions for you."

I nod and shrug. "Alright, shoot."

"When you saved me and Shepard earlier I noticed some pretty crazy stuff you were pulling off." Tali hops up onto a large crate. "Like… shooting fire out of your hands or… teleporting. I wanted to know how you do that stuff."

I rub the back of my head nervously. "I actually had this conversation with Shepard earlier. I'll tell you what I told him. They're armor mods."

"Hm." Tali says tilting her head. "That's odd because I seem to remember you 'magically' calling a pistol into your hand without your armor."

I blink. "Uh… I'm also a biotic."

"Really?" Tali stands and starts to pace around the room. "Because, to my knowledge, biotics manipulate dark energy, and create mass effect fields. They create an aura of dark energy. When you did it, I didn't see any aura, but there was a distortion."

I don't like where this is headed. "A distortion?"

Tali nods. "Yes. Around your hand. Not like a biotic's where it wafts off their bodies, but like the air was being manipulated by you somehow. And I hope you don't mind but I took some scans of your… 'Chemical' and of your body and I found that your body contains extremely high levels of this 'chemical' aaaand I took some samples of your DNA and you don't have a human gene structure."

Fuck.

"Care to explain?" Tali asks stopping in between me and the door.

"Uh… Um…" I can't think of a lie. Should I just tell her?

Suddenly the door opens and Shepard walks in.

"Hey guys. Suit up, we've arrived at Therum ahead of schedule and the briefing is in a half an hour. We're getting planet side in two hours, so hurry up and get ready to go." He turns and leaves quickly.

Saved by the bell. "I should go and get ready."

Tali nods. "Sure. Duty calls… but this isn't over."

I leave the room quickly heading out to the elevator.

Does that count as a good conversation?

Sure, why not. Three out of Six. That's a one to two ratio!

Score.

* * *

**A/N: Funny story. I took a couple of Mary Sue tests, mostly for Splicer, but for a few others. None of my characters are Mary Sue, a pat on the back is in order… that felt good. **

**However, Splicer is very angst. I know. This story is very angst isn't it? Oh darn. Well. I'll try and tone the angst down.**

**As I did in this chapter hopefully. Sorry, no combat, don't worry the next will be a little more talking, then the… 4 after that will be combat, combat and more combat.**

**Hello Therum!**

**Alright so, for the 2nd time I've forgotten to post and that's... that's my bad. I'll try to get better but for now, I'm going to work on a "bonus" chapter for the series of one-shots that I talked about last year. So stay tuned for that, it'll be out within the next week.**

**Hope you guys liked the chapter, see you next week!**


	7. Ch 6: Priority Therum P1- Briefing

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions."**

**~William Butler Yeats~**

* * *

**A/N: Every major mission like Therum, Feros or Noveria are going to be 3-7 chapters in length, the first chapter of which will be a briefing/ Talk to everyone about what they think about the mission. It might seem a little dull, but I'll try and keep it as interesting as possible.**

* * *

**Ch. 6: Therum**

**Part 1- Priority Briefing**

**12:33 PM January 4, 2183**

* * *

I readjust my bracer on my forearm and roll it around to make it sits properly and comfortably. I roll my shoulders and do a few stretches to make sure my armor is sitting right. I feel a sharp pain in my neck and I pop it. I guess I slept on the wrong side of the sleep pod. Once satisfied that my gear is properly situated on myself I open my locker again to take out my guns.

Ew.

Standard issue Alliance military guns… An M7 Lancer Assault rifle, M22 Katana Shotgun, M89 Reaper Sniper Rifle, and M2 Kessler hand gun are my load out.

In short it's all crap. Oh… fuck my neck hurts.

"Ashley, why do I have to carry this around again?" I ask holding up the sniper rifle.

Ashley puts her helmet on and latches it into place. "Alliance protocol. Skipper's orders. He wants everyone ready for any contingency. This way, if you need the rifle, you have it."

I roll my eyes. "What could I possibly need it for? I couldn't use it if I wanted to, I'm practically useless at a long distance."

Ashley shrugs. "Then use it as a club if you need it, I don't know. Maybe stop whining about it and just carry it around."

I make a face and a mocking noise and put it onto my back. Ugh. I feel like a billion pounds heavier.

"You'd think with Spectre funding, they could afford some better equipment to give us." I say, closing my locker and tucking my helmet under my arm.

Ashley shrugs and grabs her guns from her locker. "You'd think. But what's wrong with this stuff? It's all reliable and it gets the job done."

I draw my Lancer and look at it contemptuously. "Yeah… but it's just so…"

"So… So what?" Ashley asks, shrugging.

"So… Boring. It's not extraordinarily strong or accurate or anything. It's… balanced." I scowl at my gun. Ew… normal weapons.

"What's wrong with balanced weaponry?" Ashley asks, walking with me to the elevator.

I shrug. "I don't know. Nothing I guess. I suppose I'm just too used to using fancy custom guns."

"There's your problem, Pretty Boy." Ashley says pointing at me with a grin. "You use pretty guns and pretty armor bought with your pretty money. You use the fancy shit. Why are rich people so afraid of getting down and dirty and gritty? I'd never give up these babies, not in a long shot."

Ashley plants a kiss on the side of her rifle.

"… Pretty Boy?" I frown at her.

She shrugs. The doors open and we walk up the stairs to the Briefing Room where everyone waits around, sitting in chairs.

I sit down next to Tali and Ashley sits on the other end of the room closer to Kaiden.

"Alright people, listen up." Shepard announces standing up and walking to a large hologram of a volcanic looking planet. "This is Therum. We're here looking for one Dr. Liara T'Soni. She's an expert on the Prothean, and she happens to be Matriarch Benezia's daughter. So by getting her off of this planet, we're killing two birds with one stone."

Wrex chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Garrus mumbles to ask him.

Wrex shrugs. "Sounds funny is all. Impressive feat too."

Garrus frowns but then nods in agreement. "Yeah, actually it does sound impressive."

"Could we focus, please?" Shepard asks, annoyed.

"Sorry, Commander." Garrus nods in apology.

Shepard nods back. "Alright. As I was saying. Dr. T'Soni may have information regarding Benezia's connection with Saren, not to mention, she may be able to decipher the visions I've been having?"

"They're still bugging you, Skipper?" Ashley asks.

Shepard nods. "Yes. Most nights. They mean something, I'm sure of it. So getting Dr. T'Soni may be able to help me interpret the dreams."

"What's the situation?" Garrus asks, leaning onto his knee. "I doubt it'll be as simple as walking in there and grabbing her."

"You'd be right. It won't be that simple." Shepard agrees, nodding.

I scoff. "Is it ever?"

Shepard ignores me and continues his briefing. "We're scanning half a dozen geth cruisers in orbit of the planet. Intel estimates that more than half a million geth intelligences can be housed on 1 cruiser. Not to mention that drop ships can be deployed at any time, each holding over 200 geth. Good news? The geth don't know we're here yet, our stealth systems are fully engaged and running and as long as we can get Dr. T'Soni off of Therum in the next few hours, we'll be fine."

Kaiden sighs loudly. "'We' as in: the Normandy? Or 'We' as in: the ground team?"

Shepard laughs a little. "The Normandy will be fine as long as we complete the mission in the next few hours. However… The ground team will have their work cut out for them. The second we hit the ground, the geth will be on our asses. There's no preventing that, the Mako doesn't have a stealth drive. However, we can easily outrun the geth in the Mako. All we need to do is get as close to the Prothean ruins as possible to-"

"Wait, why can't we just go straight to the Prothean ruins?" Tali asks sounding slightly annoyed and confused.

Shepard zooms in on the planet, revealing a huge black spot on it. "Somewhere in here…" He points to the middle of the black spot. "…is the Prothean Ruin. This big black spot is smoke. We know the location of ruins so we won't be flying blind but… All around the ruins…" He circles the entire cloud of smoke. "Are rivers, lakes… even small oceans of red hot lava. So if we just dropped the Mako into where we think the ruins are it's more than likely everyone inside will die a horrendous fiery death when we're dropped straight onto a pool of lava. So instead we're going to be dropped here…" Shepard zooms on an area uncovered by smoke. "… Upwind of the smoke and 6 klicks north of the ruins. We'll have to pass through an old volus outpost on our way there that has gone silent. We can only assume it has been overrun by geth. This is going to be dangerous. But, it'll be our first real test and our first real insight into just how much strength Saren has at his disposal. Eden Prime was just the beginning, it was just a taste of Saren's strength. I have a feeling it wasn't the last we'll see of that dreadnaught either."

"Dreadnaught?" Wrex grunts with a frown. "What dreadnaught?"

Here we go…

Shepard types into his omni-tool. "We saw this on Eden Prime. Kaiden was kind enough to snap a picture before it took off."

A picture appears onscreen of Sovereign eclipsing the sky with its size with red lightning jumping off of its body, at the forefront of the image, Shepard crouches with his rifle raised facing the Reaper… And Ashley striking up a pose and peace sign next to it.

Mature.

I feel a twinge in my neck and I pop it making my head hurt a little and my ears ring. I grunt quietly and rub my sore neck. Crap that hurts so bad I'm getting a splitting headache.

Shepard shuts off the image and continues his briefing. I rub my neck and shake my head a little.

Tali nudges me. "Are you alright?"

I nod. "Yeah. My neck hurts. I'll be fine I think."

Tali nods. "Okay… Our conversation isn't over. You know."

I give her a look. Geez. At least I'll have a whole mission to think up a palpable lie.

"… splitting up into 2 ground teams, 1st and 2nd. 1st ground team will consist of myself, Tali, and Splicer. 2nd ground team will consist of Lieutenant Alenko, Ashley Garrus and Wrex. Kaiden will be in charge of 2nd ground team. Once at the Ruins, we'll split into the 2 teams. 1st ground team will enter the ruins to search for Dr. T'Soni. 2nd ground team will watch our backs and guard the only entrance of the Ruins. The 2nd ground team will hold position until rendezvous with 1st ground team and EVAC. The geth will likely be hot on our asses so 2nd ground team will have quite a fight on their hands, which is why their bolstered in numbers and combat and biotic strength. Hold the line for 10 minutes. After that, you have my permission to make a tactical retreat or call for extraction. This is our first step in our fight against Saren." Shepard says, recapturing my attention. "Let's not waste this opportunity. If we can get T'Soni out of there before the geth find her then we're one step closer. For whatever reason they don't have her yet and we're going to get her first. Any questions?"

Shepard looks around the room at all of us, waiting.

"Why?" Wrex grunts.

Shepard looks at him. "Why what?"

"Why do we even need her? If you ask me, we should be pursuing a higher value catch. We should be after something of more significance, of more certainty. We should be after Benezia. Not her daughter." Wrex argues and his voice crescendos into anger.

Shepard frowns. "That's not your call. Your opinion is noted. But T'Soni's knowledge of both Benezia and the Protheans could be useful."

"'Could be.' It could be. But there's no guarantee. You're flying blind. This is stupid." Wrex stands and leaves.

Shepard scowls at his back and after he's gone he sighs through his nose and I could swear that I see flames shoot out. "Meeting adjourned. Get ready. I want ground teams 1 and 2 in the Cargo Hold at 1330."

So… I have about a half an hour. I guess I'll walk around and talk to the ground team and see what their thoughts are on the mission.

Though… maybe I'll hold off talking to Tali for obvious reasons.

I wait until everyone leaves the briefing room except for Shepard who looks in between his omni-tool and the holographic image of Therum, frowning.

I walk up to him. "Shepard, I had a few questions about the mission."

He closes his omni-tool and faces me. "Go ahead."

"First off, what's your opinion on it?" I ask crossing my arms.

He shrugs. "I don't know what Wrex's deal is. This mission is just as important as the Noveria mission. All the missions are important; I picked this one because it seemed the most time sensitive."

"Why's that?" I ask.

Shepard shrugs again and walks over to the monitor opening his omni-tool again. "Just that Dr. T'Soni is a civilian. And she's a threat to Saren's plan. That makes her a target." A dossier of Liara appears on the monitor. "And after Eden Prime, I'd like to limit civilian casualties."

"True, but it's unavoidable in war." I walk up to the monitor. "Is this her?"

Shepard nods. "Yes."

"… Hm. She's a looker, huh?" I grin.

Shepard scoffs quietly and gives me a disapproving yet entertained look. "Keep it professional. There's a chance we'll be having her on the ship."

"What makes you say that?" I ask, with faux curiosity.

Shepard sighs audibly. "For her safety, most likely."

"You don't sound too hot on that idea." I point out.

Shepard sighs again. "Yeah… not really."

"Why's that?" I ask, with actual curiosity. Am I about to get some insight into Shepard's character?

Shepard shrugs. "She's an asari… more specifically she's not human. I'm fine with that, but a good number of people on the crew aren't 'hot' on that idea. They might be opposed to more non-humans on the ship. Namely Pressley and Williams."

I frown. "Why them?"

Shepard sighs. "XO Pressley has his reasons. He was involved in the First Contact War with the turians and he's distrustful of aliens, but I think he's got a specific dislike for Garrus and Tali."

"Why them specifically?" I ask sitting down.

Shepard shrugs. "Don't know for sure. Maybe it's because they're actually involved. They're doing stuff, you know? Garrus is recalibrating the Mako, Tali is working in the engine room, and I guess he's just paranoid they'll do something malicious, maybe. Unlike Wrex who doesn't do anything."

"What's William's beef with the aliens on the crew?" I ask, leaning back in the chair.

Shepard shrugs again. "I don't know that for sure either. It's not like she hates them either. She's just distrustful of them too. But she's at least _acting_ amicable, unlike Pressley."

"Why don't you straighten them out?" I ask. "You're their commanding officer."

Shepard shakes his head. "It's too early for that. I outrank them both and I have for some time. But Pressley has more experience than me and I don't think he respects me as the captain of this ship yet. Ashley is new, and though she's made it clear that she respects me as a soldier and a leader, it's too soon for me to start trying to realign her moral compass. Pressley's too."

On some level, I pity Shepard. He doesn't seem all that happy with being in charge of the Normandy. And from this conversation, I can't help but notice that it seems that he feels helpless. Shepard sure seems different from what I expected. He doesn't seem like he's jumping into the role he was put into like he did in the games. He almost seems bitter that he has been put into this role. I'll be sure to add this in my report to the Council.

I stand and nod at him as I leave. "Thanks Shepard, I'll see you downstairs."

Shepard nods and continues his work on his omni-tool. "You too, Splicer."

I head downstairs and I walk over to Kaiden who rummages through a sleep pod.

"Hey, Kaiden." I say nodding to him.

He looks at me. "Oh, hi Splicer."

"What're you doing?" I ask, frowning.

He continues rummaging through the sleep pod. "I forgot I had to get these other sleep pods ready for the next shift. It's hard being Staff Lieutenant. There's a lot to remember."

"How long have you been Staff Lieutenant?" I ask.

He pauses and thinks. "2 months? Something like that. I still forget to do lots of stuff though. It's a hard job. But someone has to do it, right?"

I nod. "Probably. I wouldn't know. Anyways, what're your thoughts on the mission?"

Kaiden shrugs. "I just hope this isn't pointless. If the geth _have_ gotten to Liara then this'll have been for nothing. She's a loose end to Saren, probably nothing more. He wants her dead. Meaning that _if_ the geth get to her before we do, they'll just kill her. Hopefully Shepard's right, that whatever's slowing them down is keeping them at bay. But, like I said, I hope this isn't pointless."

"Then you sort of agree with Wrex?" I ask frowning.

Kaiden shrugs. "In a way. Wrex has a point. This mission is mostly speculation we might risk our lives for nothing. But if Shepard thinks this is important than it is. I trust him to make the right decisions."

I nod at him and start to walk away. "I'll let you get back to your work."

He nods and continues his rummaging. "Alright, see you."

Alright, Wrex next, though I'm pretty sure I know how he feels about this mission already.

I head down the elevator and I walk up to Wrex. "Hey Wrex."

He nods. "Splicer. What do you want?"

"I wanted to know what you think about the mission." I respond.

He rolls his eyes. "I made my thoughts on the mission clear. I don't think this mission is important. So what if some random asari dies? That happens every day."

I shrug. "But she's not random. She's Benezia's daughter. And clearly there's something important about her, if they're sending half a dozen geth cruisers to kill one person."

Wrex shrugs. "Maybe, but I still fail to see the necessity of going after her first. We didn't even know she was in actual danger until we got here. Shepard chose to come here before we knew about the cruisers. I don't understand why he wouldn't pick to go find Benezia on Noveria or even investigate the geth reports on Feros. It's not like he has to _do_ anything anymore anyways, he's a Spectre. If you ask me, his reasons for coming here are selfish."

I frown. "What makes you say that?"

Wrex gives me a sideways glace. "Those visions he was complaining about. Maybe he thinks this asari can help him figure them out. But if you ask me, he should be able to take a few bad dreams and prioritize these missions by importance."

He's… got a point. "That makes sense, actually."

Wrex nods. "Yeah, see, you agree with me then."

Can't believe I'm doing this. "I don't agree with you. I'm trying to rationalize this and stay neutral. All I said is that you have a point, so does Shepard for that matter."

"What point does he make?" Wrex asks, hostility curbing his voice.

"He pointed out that this mission is the most time sensitive. He said that Liara is a civilian and he has to do all that he is able to prevent civilian casualties." I say, repeating Shepard's words, hoping that I can find some common ground between Wrex and Shepard.

I don't want them disagreeing, and I definitely don't want to take sides here. Wrex always seemed amicable to Shepard. In fact, nobody disagreed with his decisions. But now it seems like everyone has different opinions and are at each other's throats. This is not what I expected at all.

Wrex frowns. "That makes no sense."

"What does?" I ask frowning and confused.

Wrex looks at me. "He wants to limit civilian casualties, right? Then why aren't we on Feros?"

I frown deeper. "What do you mean?"

Wrex turns to face me. "If he wanted to limit civilian casualties, then we'd be on Feros. The colony of Zhu's Hope on Feros has many civilians and they're under attack by the geth. All their lives are in danger, yet Shepard chooses to go to Therum to find a single asari archeologist who may or may not have information regarding Saren because she's a civilian and she's in danger. That doesn't make any sense."

… Oh fuck, he's right.

"Uh, well maybe Shepard sees Liara as a HVT or maybe he thinks the Zhu's Hope colonists have a better chance at defending themselves against the geth?" I suggest shrugging.

Wrex shakes his head. "Maybe, whatever. This mission is rooted around selfish reasoning and vain hope. It's completely pointless."

"I'll talk to you later." I walk away from him before he worms his way into my head any more with his weird krogan logic.

I walk over to Garrus. "Hey Garrus."

"Splicer, something I can do for you?" He asks, working on his console.

"I wanted to know your thoughts on the mission." I say leaning on the Mako.

Garrus stops typing and leans against the console. "The mission seems important. I can't say I entirely agree with Wrex nor Shepard, but Saren clearly thinks this mission is important too, and that's reason enough to be here. I overheard your conversation with Wrex."

"You did?" I ask, raising an eyebrow slightly.

He nods. "Of course I did, you're 20 feet away from me. He makes a good point, but I doubt Shepard is the kind of person to do things for selfish reasons. If he thought this mission had priority, then it probably does. I'm a detective. I spent my entire career listening to my gut, letting it tell me when things aren't right. The geth are here in strength to kill one person. That's not right. Let me tell you, my gut is telling me all kinds of trouble about the mission."

"Are you sure it's not the Chef's Surprise they served for lunch?" I ask frowning.

Garrus chuckles. "Maybe. But, like I said, this Liara is important to Saren in some way. That means she's important to us too. Our job is to stop Saren, and if that involves risking our lives to save one person, then that's what we have to do."

I nod and push myself off of the Mako. "You have a point. I'll talk to you later Garrus."

"See you." He says continuing his work on the Mako.

I check the time on my omni-tool. 10 minutes left. I have a little time to talk to Ashley.

I walk up to her. "Hey Ashley."

"For the last time!" She exclaims. "Yes! You have to carry the damn sniper rifle!"

I frown. "That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Oh, what did you need then?" She asks, leaning against her table.

"I just wanted to hear your thoughts on the mission." I respond, crossing my arms.

Ashley shrugs. "Whatever. Shepard thinks it's important so it is. Wrex just has a stick up his ass. Maybe he just doesn't like the heat. In my opinion it'll be nice to have another girl on the crew. All the girls on the ship don't like the stuff I like, maybe this Liara will be better."

Oh… you couldn't be more wrong. "That's the hope, I suppose."

Ash nods. "Damn straight… looks like we're heading out."

I turn around and spot Shepard and Kaiden coming out of the elevator. They walk over to the Mako and Shepard has a few words with Garrus while Kaiden enters the Mako. Shepard turns to face the room.

"Alright everyone! Let's get this mission going!" He shouts loudly.

Tali comes rushing out of the engine room just as he says that. She gets into the Mako and Garrus follows. Wrex stomps over to the Mako as well and climbs in, making it list slightly as he enters.

"Come on you two." Shepard calls to Ashley and me before he enters.

"Shall we go?" Ashley asks.

I nod and follow her to the Mako. I feel my heart racing. Am I nervous?

Of course I am! They're going to drop us out of the Normandy in the Mako, right? Oh geez... that's going to be scary. Also I'm nervous about going planet side for the first time in years. For the first time in 7 years I'll feel real soil under my feet and real sunlight on my face. That'll be surreal, probably.

I enter the Mako after Ashley and I shut the door behind me. It seals with a whoosh and I look around the interior.

It's definitely cramped in here. There's barely enough room for everyone in here. There's a passenger seat, driver's seat at the front, the turret seat and 3 passenger seats lining each side of the Mako.

"I call the turret!" Garrus shouts leaping into the turret seat, strapping himself in.

"These seats are too damn small!" Wrex growls angrily attempting to pull a harness down over himself. With a grunt he yanks it over his torso and clicks it into place. He grunts again and shifts barely moving. "Crap… This is going to hurt."

I take a seat in between to Ashley and Tali, letting Wrex occupy the entire other wall. Kaiden sits up front in the passenger seat next to Shepard.

"Everyone ready?" Shepard asks looking over his shoulder at us.

I pull my helmet on and close the harness over my torso letting it automatically tighten and snap seal itself to the seat. "Ready, Shepard."

"Joker, we've got the green light." Shepard says into a headset. "Bring us in for tactical drop."

"_Aye, aye Commander, coming to drop zone in 10 seconds."_ Joker replies over the comm.

The ship starts to shake as we enter Therum's atmosphere and after the shaking stops the back door of the Normandy opens revealing Therum and all its fiery glory to us. The inside of the Cargo Hold lights up with a red light.

Joker's voice comes back over the comm. _"Green light in 3… 2… 1…"_

The red light changes to green and Shepard guns the Mako forward. I feel the Mako lurch forward then we start to fall. My feet lift up off of the ground and I feel like my stomach floats up into my throat. I feel myself grow weightless and start to rise in my seat slightly. I grip my armrests with all my strength as the fall continues, squeezing my eyes shut and squealing in fear and excitement through my teeth.

Suddenly the boosters fire and I grunt in discomfort as the Mako lurches and I'm forced back into my seat. Then with a huge bang and a lot of pain, the Mako hits the ground. The Mako dips and bounces on its powerful suspension and the force of the landing is so great that I actually knee myself in the head.

The Mako stops and I feel like all of my organs are in the wrong place.

"Everyone alright?" Shepard asks eyes bright with adrenaline.

I give a weary thumbs up.

I glance at Tali who is glued to her seat, hands gripping the armrest in a vice. I guess quarians don't have roller coasters. I look at Ashley who's just smiling widely under her helmet. Then I look at Wrex who's struggling to remove his harness, grunting loudly.

"That did hurt!" He growls angrily.

"Garrus, you good?" I call to him.

"Yeah… bumped my head pretty good but that's what helmets are for. Just wish I was wearing one." He calls back.

"We're all good Shepard." Ashley calls to him.

Shepard nods. "Good, let's go find us an asari."

**Epilogue…**

Arachne kicks open the lid of the crate and climbs out. She shakes off the pink slime that coats her body. She frowns at the inside of the large crate which is a quarter full of slime and very, very slowly rising. "What the hell is this stuff?"

She closes the lid of the crate and grabs one of Splicer's discarded articles of clothing. She wipes off the slime to the best of her ability and tosses it aside with an angry growl.

She raises her hand to her ear. "Scorpius, come in. This is Arachne."

"_Scorpius here."_ He replies_. "Good to hear your voice, Arachne. What's your situation?"_

"It looks like I'm sticking around longer than I expected. The Normandy is in orbit of a planet called Therum, I can't leave yet it's too dangerous." She says walking over to the door and locking it.

"_Why?"_ Scorpius asks angrily.

"There's geth all over the planet. I can't cloak from them easily, it's just too dangerous. I'll get off at the next planet" Arachne says walking over to Splicer's desk and rummaging through his things.

"_Alright, just stay safe and stay undetected."_ Scorpius says. _"Have you learned anything?"_

She shakes her head. "Nothing good. I'm going through his things."

"_You know what you're looking for?"_ Kraken asks.

Arachne nods. "Yes."

"_If you find it, let us know."_ Scorpius says. _"Where's Splicer right now, are you sure it's safe for you to talk?"_

She nods. "Yes, he's out on the planet surface right now."

"_I know it's hard but try not to break anything."_ Myrmidon says. _"That'll just give you away."_

"I've been doing this a lot longer than you; I think I know what I'm doing." Arachne says smugly.

Suddenly there's some noise from outside.

"Where's that case of medi-gel…" Arachne hears someone outside say.

Arachne looks over at a crate in the corner of the room marked medi-gel.

"Fuck." Arachne rushes to clear everything up as she found it on the desk but knocks a syringe over onto the floor shattering it. "Fuck."

She kneels to clean it up but pauses for a second. She smiles and raises her hand to her ear. "Found it."

She quickly cleans it up and takes another syringe of the green substance from the metal case. She clips it to her belt and runs over to another large crate, not the one filled with slime. She opens it, clears a little room for herself and climbs inside, contorting herself into the tiny space she provided herself.

"_You found it?"_ Scorpius asks shocked.

Arachne nods with some difficulty. "Yes. But it doesn't look right."

"_But you're sure that it's it?"_ Scorpius asks.

"I'll need to test it, but I'm almost positive." Arachne responds.

"_Alright. Stay safe."_ Scorpius cuts the comm and Arachne sighs.

She wiggles herself to make a bit of space and removes the syringe from her belt. She holds it close to her face, and savors the eerie green glow it gives off. Mission accomplished.

* * *

**A/N: Alright guys, so I know, so far, Part 2 of Massive Shock blows. I know it sucks, that's because I haven't tried as hard as I should've been trying. Honestly though, it picks up from here, I know that so far it's been like talk talk talk talk blah blah blah blah but the next 4 chapters are pure action, suspense and classic Massive Shock. So to that effect:**

**I'll see you next week!**

**Oh! Also the link to Massive Shock: Prodigy is on my profile. It's not a mass effect fan fiction, it's listed under Bioshock. Prodigy is the series of one shots about Splicer's fight for survival in Rapture. They're not really tied with one another and if you remember my deal from last year, every time we hit a major milestone, I'll put out a new chapter. This first chapter is an apology for last week's late update.**

**Okay! So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter this week (Again, sorry it's boring) I'll see you for the action packed chapter next week!**


	8. Ch 7: Therum P2- Ride to Ruin

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**To achieve great things, two things are needed: A plan and not quite enough time."**

**~Leonard Bernstein~**

* * *

**Ch. 7: Therum**

**Part 2- Ride to Ruin**

**1:33 PM January 4, 2183**

* * *

"Shepard!" Kaiden shouts a little too loudly from the passenger's seat next to Shepard. "We've got incoming geth drop ships! Lots of em!"

"Garrus!" Shepard roars. "Slow them down!"

The Mako jolts to the side and there's a loud explosion from outside.

"Too late!" Garrus shouts. "They've dropped Armatures!"

"Taking fire!" Kaiden shouts. "Shields at 50%!"

Shepard growls and forces the wheel to the side, causing the Mako to lurch violently. Holy crap this is stressful. Just minutes into being on Therum and we're already fighting furiously. I'm glad I can't see anything other than what's dead ahead of us, otherwise I might be panicking.

"There's too many of them!" Garrus shouts in alarm from the turret.

Shepard slams his foot on the brakes as we near a wide turn and spins the wheel to the side. The Mako starts to slide on the loose ash and cuts the turn close. Shepard curses as one of the wheels falls off the edge of the short drop toward a lake of lava. The Mako quickly pulls itself back over and continues on.

"Garrus! Keep them at bay!" Shepard shouts again.

"I'm trying Commander! There's just too many of them!" He shouts back.

I crack my head against the safety harness holding me in place as the Mako's boosters fire and we're launched into the air. I close my eyes and wait for us to die, crash or for me to vomit.

The Mako lands with a painful lurch, not nearly as bad as the initial landing but just as unpleasant. I curse angrily and loudly as my head, yet again, collides with something. At this rate I'm more likely to die of whiplash than of the geth! Shepard guns the Mako again and with another sudden and unpleasant lurch we're off again.

The Mako darts around a tight corner and swerves up a ramp and into a concrete tunnel. The ramp is taken too fast however and the Mako collides with the roof of the tunnel, bouncing and crashing back to the ground. Shepard swerves the Mako attempting to regain control of it. The Mako jumps forward again and zooms down the tunnel. The tunnel rumbles and muffled booms are frequent as we speed down the tunnel.

"What's that noise?" Tali asks nervously looking around at the ceiling.

"Aerial bombardment. The geth are trying hard to stop us." Shepard says frowning at the ceiling. "I guess they know what we're here for."

Jesus, this is way more intense than it was in the games. What the crap is going on here? For some reason I thought I'd like riding in the Mako. But I guess I shouldn't have expected any less. All my rides in the Mako in ME1 were particularly… bumpy to say the least.

"Shepard the seismometer is detecting increased seismic activity. I think the aerial bombardments are destabilizing the volcanos." Kaiden says looking at his console.

Shepard frowns. "Damn. We should limit our time in these tunnels too… they could collapse at any minute."

Shepard rounds the last corner of the tunnel and we come to a straightaway with a light at the end.

"Shepard! I'm detecting approximately… a shit load of hostiles outside of the tunnel!" Kaiden shouts looking at him.

In response, Shepard guns the engine and we start going faster. "Hold on tight. This'll get bumpy."

Oh geez. Shepard's too aggro. He's going to get us all killed!

The Mako launches out of the tunnel opening to meet a tsunami of weapons fire, smashing a good number of geth and plowing down a good number more as it drops.

"Spirits!" Garrus curses from the turret, spinning and not taking his finger off of the trigger. "They're freaking everywhere!"

Suddenly there's a huge beam of light that blasts the ground nearby, throwing dirt and ash into the air. Shepard swerves the Mako out of the path of the new crater. Another hits and Shepard leaps over this other crater, as it already fills with lava.

"They're continuing the aerial bombardment!" Ashley shouts in alarm as Shepard continues to swerve the Mako around.

"AH!" I scream, panicking. "I'M GOING TO FREAKING DIE!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Wrex shouts at me.

The reddish glow that lights the inside of the cabin of the Mako from all of the lava fades to black for a split second then it fills with a bright white light.

"Fuck!" Shepard yanks the wheel to the side, moving us barely enough to miss the bombardment blast. The explosion sends into a two-wheeler, or in the Mako's case a four-wheeler, as it tips us over to the side forcing it to balance on its left set of wheels.

I feel my head collide with the wall of the Mako, and I look around frantically as I realize that we're tipping over.

"Ah, AH!" Wrex shouts as he rises into the air as the Mako nears a horizontal position. If we fall over we're fucking doomed. And if our harnesses fail I'm fucking doomed, seeing as how Wrex is directly across from me, soon to be above me. Of all the ways I thought I'd die on this mission, "Crushed by Krogan" wasn't one I'd considered.

"No!" Shepard shouts slamming his hand on the thrusters' button. The Mako shoots to the side dragging its wheels on the ground. The Mako catches the ground and does a full 360 spin, landing hard on all eight wheels.

Once righted, we all don't move for a second. Everyone kind of just stares agape at the floor and waits to see if they'll die. Finally Shepard gets to the good sense to slam his foot on the accelerator and we're off again.

"That was fucking awesome!" I shout excitedly.

"Shepard, we're losing the geth behind us. And the cruisers have ceased their bombardment for now." Kaiden says breathing a sigh of relief. "But we're getting close to the outpost. It's probably full of geth."

Shepard nods and rounds a corner to a narrow pass that leads to the outpost. Oh yeah, here. I hated here. His eyes widen and he slams his foot on the breaks.

"Kaiden, what're we looking at?" Shepard asks looking at him.

Kaiden looks at the radar screen. "Three geth rocket defense towers, multiple geth hostiles guarding the main entrance to the outpost. But I'm detecting a route off to our right that we can use to flank the geth."

"Tactically, that's a good plan; we should go around them." Garrus says, poking his head down from the turret.

Ashley nods in agreement. "Yeah, a head on attack is suicide."

No its not. I did it all the time in the game and came out fine. I swear, that back entrance is for chumps.

"I agree, we should probably go around Shepard." Kaiden says looking at him.

Shepard frowns. "Nuts to that we can make it." Shepard guns the engine forward. "Garrus! Get shooting!"

YES! HARDCORE!

I hear missiles whiz past overhead over the constant roar of the machine gun and boom of the main cannon. Finally there are a few muffled explosions.

"Defense cannons and geth hostiles neutralized, Commander." Garrus says proudly from the turret.

"Good job." Shepard says with a nod. "Getting good at that, huh?"

"It's like, part of me. An… extension of myself. Geth? Don't stand a chance." Garrus says with a grin.

…

"Hey, Garrus!" I shout to him with a grin. "Did you just speak in haiku?"

"That a human thing? I don't think that I did that. Whatever it is." He responds.

I laugh. "Dude, you just did it again."

"Could we focus please?" Shepard asks sounding annoyed. "… And Garrus you did just speak in haiku."

"I don't understand. What is a freaking haiku? Could someone explain?" Garrus says.

"Okay, now you're just doing it on purpose." Ashley growls.

"Could everyone shut up and not speak in Japanese poetry, please?" Shepard asks sarcastically. "The gate's closed we need to open it manually from the gate house. We'll need someone to open the gate for us. Garrus and Splicer, go. Ashley you're on the gun."

"Finally." Ashley says with exasperation and exhilaration.

Garrus unstraps himself and hops out of the turret. I fumble with my restraint harness awkwardly, trying to find out how I release it. Ashley forcefully pushes a button on the center of my harness, releasing it and making it glide off of me.

"Oh." I mumble, embarrassed.

I walk up and join Garrus who opens the door and hops out. I step up to the doorway and instantly I don't want to go outside. The heat hits you like a wave. Even through my armor. I suck it up however.

"Ugh." I grunt hopping out of the Mako. "SNAKE: Activate climate control."

"_Activating… Activated."_ I feel myself cool instantly. Ah… that's better.

Garrus looks at me. "Did you just activate climate control in your armor?"

I nod. "Yeah. Why? Doesn't yours have climate control?"

He blinks and I notice beads of sweat already forming on his neck. "No. But it's not so bad. As long as we get back into the Mako soon, I'm fine." He takes a deep breath. "Gosh, air's thin here huh?"

I open my helmet and take a deep breath but start coughing immediately. "Ugh, yeah its really thin. And the smoke doesn't exactly help either. Man, it'd be damn easy to pass out in this kind of environment. Maybe you should've brought a helmet."

"Maybe. Oh well." I follow Garrus as he walks over to the building over to the side of the gate. He looks up at the window a good ways up, maybe 10 feet or so.

"Boost me up." Garrus says, waving me over.

I shrug and walk over to the wall. I squat and lean back against it like I'm sitting on an invisible bench. Garrus boosts himself onto my shoulders by using my legs like step stools. I look up at him as he looks left and right in the room. He looks down at me and puts a finger to his… Lips? I get the gesture though. I nod. He draws his pistol and climbs into the building and out of my sight. I push myself off of the wall. I should get in there too, he'll need backup. But I have to keep quiet.

"SNAKE: Activate sound-" I'm interrupted by a loud gunfire, both geth and normal. I curse and leap up to the window sill, grabbing the edge and vaulting into it. I spot Garrus in a struggle with a geth trooper, the trooper being the one on top, pinning him to the ground, one hand on his throat the other holding Garrus's pistol wielding hand.

I draw my pistol to help him, but that's when I notice another 3 geth coming into the building. I aim my pistol through the openings in the pipes.

I fire rapidly at them, hitting the pipes more than anything but I think I got a good couple of hits on at least one of them slowing them down as they search for cover. I sprint towards Garrus, spinning and roundhouse kicking the geth in the head off of Garrus. The geth topples to the side with the hit but he doesn't let go of Garrus.

Come on you bastard. I grab the geth by one of the flaps on its "head" and I shoot the geth in its "head" a number of times before it actually lets Garrus go. Garrus rolls over instantly and starts firing at the geth entering the building, who just round the corner towards us.

The first one takes a number of shots to the chest, stumbling back. I finish him off, blasting the geth in the torso and head even more. This pistol has good fire rate and low recoil but the power and precision are crap. The next geth pushes his dead partner aside as it dies and opens up on us with its assault rifle.

I grab Garrus and drag him back to cover. I holster my pistol and pull out my shotgun.

"Garrus." I say to him, panting a lot more than I thought I'd be. "You want to go high, I'll go low?"

He nods. "Sure sounds good."

"I'll drop the lead one for you to get a clear shot on the second. Ready?" I ask, raising my shotgun.

He nods and draws his assault rifle. "Ready."

I duck quickly and swing out of cover, sprinting low at the first geth. Once at point blank range I blast him in the chest with my shotgun and tackle him to the floor. The other geth is immediately lit up with sparks and gunfire as Garrus unloads his rifle into it.

I raise my shotgun high over my head and smash the geth in the eye with the butt of the weapon. Some of the white fluid squirts out from between the cracks I just created and the geth makes an alarmed warbling noise. I raise my shotgun up to smash it again but the geth throws up his hands and catches my wrists as they come down to strike. The geth squeezes my arms and I struggle to wrench my hands from its grip. The geth's grip continues to constrict and a small crack shoots up my left bracer.

I widen my eyes in alarm and let go of my shotgun. It falls on the geth's face and it makes a hissing noise and strengthens its grip. I activate Electro Bolt and blast the geth in the face with both of my hands. It surges and seizes and its grip constricts on my bracers tenfold and they crack in multiple places.

Suddenly I hear a loud roar and Garrus's foot comes smashing down on the geth's face Isaac Clarke style. The geth's eyestalk is smashed and bends in half and it starts to look up at Garrus weakly when Garrus brings his foot down again and crushes the geth's eyestalk entirely, white fluid spraying in all directions.

The geth's grip releases me and I wrench my hands from its grip immediately. I look at my wrists. My bracers have indents in them the shape of the geth's hands. And long thick cracks spider web out from the indents.

"Shit…" I mumble rubbing my wrists. "Those geth are a lot tougher than I thought."

Garrus nods. "Yeah… those bracers are practically useless now. You might as well wrap toilet paper around your arms."

I nod. "Yeah…"

I unstrap them from my arms and drop them. Crap. I feel naked now.

I pick my shotgun back up and turn to Garrus.

"I'll work on getting the gate open." He says walking back to the console. "Keep an eye on the door, there's more where that came from."

I nod and run towards the door. Just as I get close to it, a geth enters. I raise my shotgun and blast its head off. A second one kicks the first out of its path and swings in with its weapon raised at me. I dive to the side to avoid the burst of shots the geth fired at me. I roll to the side to discourage his aim, but immediately take a number of shots to my shield as I raise my weapon.

Oh right. They're computers. They react a little bit more quickly than organics… I fire my shotgun and blast the geth in the chest forcing it to stumble back. I charge up and tackle him. He backpedals and trips over his fallen comrade and lands flat on his back. I lean back and press my shotgun against the geth's chest. I fire and blow the geth's chest open, killing it instantly.

Or so I think. Said geth grabs my shotgun and wrenches it from my grasp bashing me over the head with it to force me off of it. I roll to the side from the force of the blow, though my armor takes most of it. The geth tosses my shotgun to the side and moves in to finish me with its hands. I raise my hand and blast it with an Electro Bolt. The geth goes into a fit of uncontrollable spasms. Individual "muscle" strands on its arms, what appear to be reinforced fiber optic cables strung together, burst and spray white lubricant.

The geth collapses to its knees then to the floor spasming and seizing uncontrollably. I quickly scramble for my shotgun and get to my feet. I return to the door and look outside. A large number of geth are moving into my position. Interesting circumstances. These being my first experiences with geth… they're ridiculously tough. I mean I'm totally pumping them full of lead… or tungsten. Or whatever these things shoot nowadays. At any rate I'm blasting frigging holes in them and they're still coming at me. A direct headshot doesn't even totally kill them. You have to blow their heads apart to kill them with a headshot. As a matter of fact you generally need to blow them apart to kill them at all.

I holster my shotgun and I draw my assault rifle and start laying out suppressing fire. Rather than try to kill any of them, I'm going to just try and keep them at a distance while Garrus gets the doors open… which shouldn't take so damn long!

"Garrus!" I shout in between bursts of gunfire. "What's the hold up?!"

"The geth put a strong encryption on the door lock!" Garrus shouts back. "I'm working on busting through it. Keep them busy for another minute!"

Crap! I hit one geth that's getting too close with an Electro Blast busting down its shield, then I overload my assault rifle on it. The geth drops and lies motionless on the ground.

Alright! I killed one without having to tackle it to the floor for once.

A geth swings around the corner with its rifle raised, appearing almost out of nowhere! Gah! I swing my rifle at its head but it ducks and my rifle collides with the door frame with enough force to fly out of my hands. The geth unloads its rifle into my stomach until its thermal clip flies out of its rifle.

Damn! Why don't we have those yet! Oh yeah… continuum. Fortunately my shields took up most of that and my armor took the rest so I'm fine. Unfortunately the geth tackles me back into the steam pipes, abandoning its rifle. I grunt and drive my elbow onto its back to little effect. I try to do it again but the geth catches my arm and forces its forearm onto my throat while holding its grip tight. I struggle to break free as the geth pulls its arm back and is engulfed in what appears to be some sort of electric barrier in a blade-like shape. The geth plunges the electrical blade into my stomach and it pierces straight through my armor and buries itself deep in my abdomen.

I cough out some blood as I gasp in pain. I draw my pistol with my freehand and fire it repeatedly into the geth's head. The bullets cut a nice big hole in the geth's neck. I let the gun fall out of my hand and I drive my hand into the hole, I yank at the geth's head as hard as I can and sever the geth's head from the rest of its torso and it falls away from me. I cough again, using the steam pipe as support, clutching at my stomach in pain.

I feel a tingling and a burning in the area of my wound and I look down and watch as the wound closes on its own. You got to love Fast Healing.

Another geth starts coming through the doorway and I throw up my hand and blast it apart with Concussive Blast. The geth flies apart in a splash of white fluid and chunks of metal. Eat it! Stupid geth!

"Yes!" I hear Garrus exclaim. "Got the door opening!"

I hear the sound of tires spinning on loose dirt and the Mako shoots into view. The Mako flattens one of the geth unlucky enough to be in the way. It skids over the loose dirt and broadsides a geth who falls flat on his back. The turret on top starts laying out all the other geth.

I grab my assault rifle and rush outside of the building guns blazing. The door to the Mako opens and Wrex leaps out, landing on the downed geth, smashing its chest in.

A geth hunter charges him and Wrex roars and punches it in the face, driving it to the ground and then blowing its head to pieces with his shotgun. Tali leaps out next with her shotgun ready. A geth running at Wrex with its weapon raised, causes Tali's arm to shoot up and fry it with an Overload, making it pirouette and crash into Wrex's back, spinning onto the ground limp. Good shit she's carrying around.

"Watch it!" I hear Garrus shout. I spin around and spot him tackling a geth down to the ground. I press my assault rifle up against its head and unload a burst of fire, tearing its head to shreds.

I pat Garrus on the back and help him to his feet quickly. "Thanks Garrus."

I run off immediately towards the Mako where the team is starting to converge, along with the rest of the geth. Looks like a last stand moment here.

I stop next to the Mako and hold my ground and help everyone finish off the last of the geth. One manages to charge through the heavy gunfire holding the others back and get real close.

Wrex steps forward and grabs its chest in one hand. He lifts it up off the ground and drives it into the ground, glowing bright with biotics as he does. As the geth collides with the ground there's a flash of biotic light and the geth explodes leaving just a white splatter on the ground. A second charges Wrex again, one of those electric blades raised, but Wrex just snaps up, still glowing with biotics, and drives his fist into the geth's chest.

Wrex roars and his aura grows brighter and the geth implodes. That's right, it implodes onto Wrex's arm. Wrex raises his arm with the white squirting mess of metal on it and aims it at the last geth. There's a flash of biotic light and the mess of geth on Wrex's arm is shot like a cannonball at the last geth, blowing him to pieces.

Damn, fucking, straight. That was some of the most creative biotics I've ever seen.

Once they're all dead I lower my assault rifle and smile at my teammates. "That was awesome."

Wrex smirks and stomps on an already dead geth. "They didn't stand a chance."

"We're not done yet!" Shepard shouts from inside. "They're going to start the aerial bombardment again! Get inside now!"

Holy fuck! Wrex climbs in first followed by Tali, then Garrus and finally myself. I climb inside and close the door behind me.

"Go!" I shout. "We're all in!"

The Mako takes off and I do a back roll from the sudden jerking motion. Crap this is going to suck.

There's a number of explosions from outside the Mako, causing it to jolt and rumble, tossing me around inside. I grab a hold of the grated floor of the floor to steady myself. The jerking and jolting of the Mako make it impossible to drag myself anywhere.

Wrex reaches his arm out and as the Mako jerks again I grab hold of his arm, diving forward to do so. He drags me forward and helps toss me to my seat.

The Mako freaking sucks!

I finally get a hold of my seat and I take a seat. I slam the harness down over myself so that the jerking of the Mako won't throw me out of it anymore.

I take a deep breath and sigh out with relief. Thank goodness, I never thought I'd miss this safety harness.

"Oh fuck!" I hear Shepard scream with alarm. There's another beam of white light that illuminates the inside of the Mako. I feel the Mako's brakes slam hard as the white light dissipates its replaced by an excessively bright red light.

Suddenly all movement of the Mako stops and it starts to list forward toward the nose. What the crap is going on?

"Everyone get out! Abandon the Mako!" Shepard shouts scrambling out of his seat as the Mako continues to list forwards.

"What's going on?!" Garrus shouts in confusion.

"The aerial strikes caused an eruption! The Mako's going into a river of lava! We need to leave!" Kaiden shouts back climbing out of his seat and following Shepard to the door as he yanks the emergency release and the door flies out of its frame.

Don't have to tell me twice! I hit the button on the center of my harness but nothing happens. I frown and try to push the harness off of myself but it doesn't budge.

"Hey!" I shout in alarm. "The harness is stuck!"

At this point everyone is out of the Mako and all I see is the back of the last person getting out. Fuck!

I push on the harness again to no avail. I hit the button on my chest again in a vain hope of getting this CRAP OFF OF ME!

I take a deep breath and hold my hands out stretched, activating Telekinesis. I focus and fight the migraine and tear the safety harness out of the wall and off of my body. I instantly dive off of my seat and climb up the Mako, which is now practically vertical, to the door. I grab the frame of the door and pull myself out onto the side of the Mako.

I take a quick glance around. The Mako is sitting at the edge of a river of lava, the source of which is very close nearby at the top of a cliff. Lava spews out of it and creates the river of hot doom that the Mako sinks into… and that I have to get out of.

I start climbing the Mako, getting over to the turret and using it to boost myself onto the very back of it. I stand up straight and spot Shepard and the rest of the team standing on the edge of the lava river.

"Splicer!" Shepard shouts. "Don't jump it's too far!"

I check the distance. About… 10 feet. Never was good at long jump. Aero Dash is all good though.

I activate it and Aero Dash to the other bank, stopping high and overshooting them by a bit. I land hard, grinding my feet into the soft ashy volcanic earth to soften the impact and I get to my feet quickly.

I turn around to them. They're all staring.

"… What?" I shrug.

"How did…" Ashley starts.

"Not now!" Shepard growls. "We're sitting ducks here."

Wrex growls low. "You got that right."

I look at him and look to where he's facing.

Fuck…

At the top of the nearby cliff with the lava spewing from… all along it are geth, running up to its edge. Hordes of them.

This… is definitely different from the game.

* * *

**A/N: Hah! Thought I'd forget didn't you? Well I'm on time this week! Sort of. Hope you liked this chapter of Massive Shock 2.**

**I'm going to level with you guys. Massive Shock 2 is the bane of my existence right now. That's because I hate writing in canon. I like to have creative freedom. So, again sorry if it seems mediocre in comparison to Massive Shock 1, I'm just not in my element right now. Anyways, thanks for stopping by guys. I'll see you again next week and as always, if you have any questions feel free to ask.**

**Thanks!**

**Mockingbird79**


	9. Ch 8: Therum P3- The River

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**The Process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination."**

**~H.P. Lovecraft~**

* * *

**Ch. 8: Therum**

**Part 3: The River, the Machine, the Darkness**

**2:33 PM January 4, 2183**

* * *

"Shepard!" I scream. "Shepard!"

He isn't able to hear me over all this gun fire. The Mako is gone, long gone, as are our hopes of fighting off these geth. Our only option would be to double back the way we came and try to find a way around the river of lava that blocks our path. Buuuut, that's not a _good_ option seeing as how there's absolutely no cover between here and the outpost we barely got out of. All in all, this trip is a little crappy. It's definitely not uneventful, but I'd say that the crap that's happened so far isn't what I'd call entirely pleasant. Not… unexciting, for sure but… Who am I convincing? This freaking sucks!

I nearly died like… I don't even know how many times! I look at Kaiden next to me. "Kaiden!"

He looks at me, his head turning sharply, waiting for me to continue, and holding his rifle tight to his chest like a cross.

"Kaiden, we're sitting ducks out here! We can't even fight back!" I shout at him.

Kaiden blinks and looks up at the sky. "And we're completely vulnerable to another aerial bombardment! We need to get to Shepard! Do you have a plan?!"

I look at the river of lava, at Ashley and Wrex pinned down behind a rock near it. I look back at Kaiden. "Yeah… Not a good one though!"

He shrugs. "Better than what I've got right now! Go! Get to Shepard, I'll cover you!"

I nod. And turn around; ready to sprint over to Shepard. Kaiden lays a hand on my shoulder.

He pats my shoulder once. Once again… Once again… then he bats on my shoulder repeatedly. I guess that's my cue. I sprint out, swerving and stumbling as rounds start hitting the ground all around me. I slide into cover next to Shepard as he rises to fire at the geth.

"Shepard!" I shout at him.

He looks over his shoulder at me and ducks down behind cover again. "Splicer! We need to get out of here!"

I nod. "I know! I've got a plan but I need everyone over near the river! Near Wrex and Ashley!"

Shepard looks over at them, frowning. Then he nods. "Alright. I'll get Garrus and Tali. Get Kaiden over there!"

I nod. "Got it!"

I pivot quickly on my hand and slide out of cover, sprinting back to Kaiden. And though I'm under fire and I nearly die simply getting back to him… I can't help but think that was cool. The pivot thing. That was cool.

Feeling like a boss.

I get down behind cover with Kaiden again. "Kaiden! We need to move! Get closer to the river!"

Kaiden nods. "Alright! How're we doing this?!"

I look over at the river of lava, then at Shepard who just slides into cover with Garrus and Tali.

I raise a hand to the side of my helmet and press the comm button next to the ear. "Shepard! Kaiden and I will give you suppressing fire! Give me a signal when you're ready!"

"_Roger."_ Shepard responds.

I draw my assault rifle and nod at Kaiden who readies his.

"_Go, go, go!"_ Shepard shouts into his comm.

Kaiden and I rise out of cover and start firing at the geth on the cliff together. I spray and pray, I'm not really aiming for anything… Ok. Suppressing fire doesn't really work on geth. They don't seem to care.

Kaiden seems to get the idea and glows bright blue next to me. He thrusts his arm forward with a roar and three blue balls of energy fly out and hit three different geth. One simply stumbles because his shield held. The other two fly off in different directions. One straight into the pit of lava. And one straight towards us… nice Kaiden.

Suddenly just as it's about to hit us Kaiden roars and swings his arm at the flying geth, glowing bright blue. The geth collides with his fist and there's a biotic explosion. The geth flies back like a bullet and explodes against the cliff.

Holy shit! Kaiden is a freaking boss. That's some biotic power he's got. I spot Shepard, Garrus and Tali reaching Wrex and Ashley. Looks like it's our turn.

"Kaiden!" I shout, grabbing him. "Let's go!"

We start sprinting towards them. Kaiden vaults over a few large boulders while I, knowing that I probably couldn't do that, juke around them.

"_Kaiden, Splicer!"_ Shepard shouts over the comm. _"Watch it, drop ship incoming!"_

I spot a drop ship flying towards us. I mean straight towards us. Not over the cliff or overhead but straight at us. Freaking kamikaze? Really?

"It's going to crash into us!" Kaiden shouts in alarm.

Suddenly the drop ship flips a bitch and pulls up and around, pointing its bottom straight at us. A new group of geth flies out the bottom straight at us, landing mere feet away. Interesting tactic. Though I can't say I can appreciate the intelligence of this tactic at the moment.

I leap over a rock and tackle Kaiden behind cover just as the geth start to open fire on us.

"Shepard!" I shout into my comm. "We need some cover fire if we're going to get to you!"

"_I'm on it!"_ I hear Garrus shout into the comm as a response.

Suddenly a geth rounds the corner of the cover to finish us but its head explodes. I look up at Garrus with his sniper rifle raised. Aw yeah. Show em Archangel.

"Splicer! Let's move!" Kaiden shouts at me dragging me up onto my feet. We start sprinting towards Shepard again. Finally we get to him, ducking back behind cover. Ashley works to cover our flank and Garrus turns his attention on the cliff face as I catch my breath behind the big rock we hide behind.

"What's the plan Splicer?!" Shepard shouts. "This better be good because now they can all just fire at one spot!"

I look at the river. "I can get us across, I think."

"You think?" Tali asks suspiciously.

I nod. "Yeah. I think I'll be able to get us across. I mean… It's a little far but I think I'll be able to do it."

"How?" Shepard asks, staring me down.

I shrug. "You've already seen how. If you're asking how I do this stuff now's not the time."

Shepard blinks and if it were quieter I'm pretty sure he'd sigh angrily. He nods, reluctantly, but he nods.

I nod back. "Alright let me just try a something first."

I stand up and walk over to the edge of the river. Alright let's try a few things. Winter Blast first.

I activate it and icicles shoot out of my body. Fog starts to waft off of my body like dry ice. I try to shoot the lava with a Winter Blast but nothing happens. Oh right. I need water in the air for Winter Blast to work. And I think there is as little water in there air as there can be right now. Speaking of which I'm parched. Ok so that's a no go.

What to try next? Shall I part the red sea? Oh shit that's funny. Because it's lava… and it's red? I wish someone heard that. Not that last part because explaining jokes is lame… and so is explaining that explaining jokes is lame.

Anyway.

I activate Telekinesis and force the lava apart in front of me. I drop it quickly. Okay that's way too hard.

Alright, looks like I have only one option. This is going to be tough.

I run back to Shepard. "Shepard! I know what I'm doing. I can take one person across at a time. Who's first?"

Splicer looks around. "Wrex is first. Take him."

Ugh. I nod. "Alright." I run up to Wrex. "Wrex! Follow me!"

"Why?!" He shouts back.

"I'm getting you across the lava first. Come on!" I grab him to drag him but he doesn't budge.

"No way am I going _across_ that!" He protests.

"Wrex!" Shepard shouts angrily. "Go! That's an order!"

Wrex frowns but nods. I lead him over to the edge of the lava. Crap that's hot! "Alright hold on tight. I've never done this before so let's see if this'll work."

I wrap my arm around his waist and put his arm over my shoulders. I activate Aero Dash and focus some power. The air around us starts to distort and my body starts to vibrate so fast it looks like it's almost vanishing in thin air.

"Hey what's going on?" Wrex asks alarmed. "What're you… AH-!"

I Aero Dash across the 20 yard river. My feet catch the opposite bank and I fall flat on my face with Wrex. Wrex rolls a little ahead of me, rolling up onto his stomach. He gets up onto all fours and pukes.

"Yeah." I mumble panting. "That'll do that to you. I'll be back."

I Aero Dash back across, stumbling a little. Even though it felt considerably easier going alone. That was tiring. "Shepard! Next!"

"Tali, go!" Shepard shouts.

Tali runs up to me. "What're you going to do?"

I wrap my arm around her waist and her arm over my shoulders like I did with Wrex. "It's best if you don't know."

I Aero Dash across the lava again, making it clear past the edge this time. I let go of Tali who bends over onto all fours.

"Oh… Keelah." Tali mumbles.

I cough with exhaustion. Alright… 2 down 4 to go. "Stay here you guys."

I Aero Dash back across and Kaiden backs up to me. He puts his arm over my shoulders and I wrap my arm around his waist. I Aero Dash across and Go back immediately after releasing Kaiden.

"Ash, go!" Shepard shouts.

Ashley backs up to me and we assume the same position. I take her across the river of lava, again tripping a little on the bank of the river. Not because she's heavy like Wrex but because I'm getting tired.

How much EVE do I have left? "SNAKE: How much EVE do I have left?"

"_SNAKE: 2 hypos remaining."_ SNAKE responds.

Only 2?! Holy shit I went through those like freaking Red Vines! "SNAKE: How much do I have in my system?" I ask sounding worried even to myself.

"_SNAKE: .112 milligrams."_ GAH! That's not good!

"What's EVE?" Ashley asks frowning at me.

"Not now!" I shout at her, Aero Dashing back over the river to Shepard's side. "Garrus, let's go!"

Garrus runs up to me and we assume the stock Aero Dashing pose I guess. "Alright, give me a second to get rea-!"

I interrupt him by Aero Dashing across the river, putting a little more oomph behind it just to make it across. Garrus stumbles and shakes his head to stave off the dizziness.

I collapse to my hands and knees and open my helmet just in time to puke. I cough and stumble back to my feet. Got to get Shepard. I Aero Dash back across.

"L-let's… Let's go Shepard!" I shout at him weakly.

Shepard rushes over to me. "Let's go!"

I grab his waist and prepare to Aero Dash across but a geth round pierces my side. I grunt with pain and fall to a knee.

"Splicer!" Shepard shouts in alarm. "Back on your feet! We're sitting ducks here!"

I cough violently and reactivate Aero Dash. God I can barely breath… I'm going to black out. Got to do this now, otherwise the last of my EVE will be drained out from healing. I muster the last of my strength and Dash across the river. We hit the other side and I let go of Shepard as my feet drag across the ground and I collapse, my vision growing black.

* * *

**?**

_I open my eyes and again find only blackness. But it feels different, less cold and infinite. I sit up, crossing my legs. It's quiet, dead silent, for once. Does that mean I'm alone here? I don't understand. I sniff, loudly enough that I should be heard, but no sound comes out. I shout, but again nothing comes out._

_I sniff again and get to my feet. It's so dark in here. But I can still see myself. I can hold my hands up and see them easily. I suppose it's more like I'm in a black room with lights. I just can't see anything else. Just myself._

_I take a step._

"_The steps you take won't get you anywhere." I hear someone with a raspy, deep voice say from somewhere. Sort of like Ron Pearlman's voice but deeper, and more… Dark. His voice echoes loudly around the room, making it impossible to pinpoint the source._

"_What do you mean?" I try to say, but no sound comes out._

"_Just what I said. You won't get anywhere doing what you're doing." The voice says. "Try something else."_

"_What do you mean?" I ask again but no response comes._

_Try something else, huh?_

_I jump._

_I hear laughing. "Nice try. Why am I surprised you tried that? No, that's not what I meant. Clearly you're not the most intelligent thing. Try again."_

_I roll my eyes, thinking. I sit down and lie down on my back._

"_What're you doing?" The voice asks confused._

"_Lying down." I respond silently. "I can't do anything else, can I? Especially if it won't take me anywhere."_

"_That's a little lazy, to put it lightly." I hear footsteps. "Do you need a little…" A man appears out of the dark above me. I don't know who he is. But he seems familiar. "…push?"_

_The man places his foot on my chest and pushes me through the ground and I start to fall._

"_Bye." He says smiling. "I'll see you next soon, maybe, if they don't find us I mean."_

"_Who are you?!" I silently call to him._

_He smiles. "Call me… On second thought, how about next time? Just that. Also, know that I will be here if you need me. Bye."_

* * *

**3:19 PM January 5, 2183**

My eyes blink open. I'm slung over someone's shoulders, bouncing up and down as we advance. I look down and find that it's Kaiden, who fireman carries me across a flat surface of ash and volcanic rock. Up on a ridge nearby a geth watchtower fires rockets and sniper bolts around at us and the rest of the team scattered around the field.

I spot a flash of light and a rocket come flying straight at us. I raise my hand and use Telekinesis, with a lot of effort, to stop the missile dead in the air. I launch it straight back at them. The missile hits the tower and it blows to pieces.

Kaiden stops behind a rock and puts me down. "Splicer, you're awake."

I nod. "Yeah. Feeling better now. Thanks for carrying me. What's the situation?"

Kaiden sits down and points over his shoulder with his thumb. "After you got us over the river, we fought our way north to a small canyon. We used the tight quarters to our advantage and placed booby traps along the canyon floor. The geth hit them all and the canyon collapsed, with us still inside. We barely got out. We wound up here and now we're pinned by geth rocket troopers and snipers, but that stunt you just pulled helped. We're not too far from the ruins now, it's just over the ridge."

I nod. "Alright. I'm going to get over to Shepard, watch my back."

Kaiden nods. "Alright. On your go."

"Go!" I sprint out and snake my way in between the rocks to Shepard. At least there's a lot of cover.

What was that dream?

I reach Shepard and press my back against cover next to him.

"Splicer!" He shouts with a nod. "Good to see you're back on your feet. I was worried you burned yourself out back there. At least you're not dead weight anymore."

I shrug. "We'll see about that I guess. What do you need me to do, Shepard?"

He looks up the ridge. "I need you to get closer. Sorry to say this, but link up with Wrex and draw their fire for Garrus and Ashley to pick them off."

I nod. "Alright, Commander."

I sprint out of cover again, making my way to Wrex who waits at the bottom of the ridge.

"Splicer." He grunts, holding his shotgun tight. "You here to help me show the geth who's got the quad on this team?"

I grin and nod. "Yeah. On your go."

Wrex roars and rises from cover, blasting his shotgun. I guess that's his way of saying go. I rise up to firing accurate bursts from my assault rifle at geth. One by one I see them dropping, either from our fire, or from Garrus or Ashley's sniper shots. Wrex roars and raises his arm and suddenly 5 geth are launched up 5 meters in the air only to hang there suspended in the air. Suddenly they glow brighter and Wrex roars again yanking his arm down like he's pulling a rip cord. The geth slam into the ground, going from 5 meters in the air to no meters in the air in a blink of an eye, and the force of the Slam makes them almost fall apart. After a short time, all the geth in the immediate area are dead, but if I remember correctly, there's a geth armature coming up here soon.

Great.

Shepard jogs past us nodding as he does. "Good job. Let's keep moving."

He leads us up the hill and toward the ruins, just around a bend along the cliff. Phew… man I need to exercise more I'm out of breath already. Sure the air's thin and it's hot but I still shouldn't be huffing and puffing after a small climb up a hill.

We enter the ruins cautiously.

"Stay sharp." Shepard whispers. "This is the perfect place for an ambush."

And just as he says that a red laser catches Ashley in the shoulder and she goes spinning to the ground. And as we are just about to return fire at the geth Hopper who was the shooter, there's an explosion, like if a meteor hit the ground only a few yards away. Out of the crater, the Armature comes.

It stomps out, swiveling its head back and forth at us, as if choosing which target to fire at first. The geth settles on Ashley who still lies prone on the ground.

I quickly grab her collar and start to drag her back to some crates.

"Get into cover!" Shepard shouts pushing Kaiden towards cover across from me. "Move it!"

The Armature fires its cannon, sending a bluish ball of light flying at us. I yank Ashley back the last few feet and duck and roll back behind the box just as the energy pulse ball hits the ground creating a small explosion followed by a bluish haze that hangs in the air. I look over at Ashley, Garrus and Tali at my side. Is Ashley dead?

Ashley suddenly lurches and coughs, shaking her head. She picks her assault rifle back up and looks around a little. "Was I knocked out?"

I nod. "Yeah. You got hit by a Hopper laser. Now we got an Armature to deal with."

Ashley gets to her feet and peeks around the corner. "Great… Well let's see what Shepard wants to do." She raises a hand to her comm. "Commander. Plan of attack?"

"_It's got heavy armor in the front to deal with, not to mention the shields that are knocking everything we shoot at it aside. The only weak spot that I can see in its armor is the under belly or maybe the eye. Once the shields are down, Wrex, Kaiden and I can tear the armor apart with our biotics."_ Shepard pauses. _"So I guess it's up to you guys on that side to take out the shields. We'll try to draw their fire so you've got room to work in. Good luck and keep comms closed so they don't hack our channels."_

I look at my teammates while the guys on the other side start to draw the fire from the geth. "What's the plan guys?"

"Take out the shields." Garrus responds, opening his omni-tool. "That should be pretty easy between Tali and me."

Tali shakes her head, also starting to work on her omni-tool. "Sorry Garrus, but our typical tricks aren't going to work here. As much as it hurts me to say it, we aren't on the level of the Armature."

Garrus frowns and lowers his arm. "What do we do then?"

Tali shakes her head again. "I'm getting to that. The Armature has an adaptive self-replicating kinetic barrier that strengthens in areas where it's most needed and that restores itself in others as it takes damage. Overloading its shields would work, but only for a split second. If we want to give Shepard and the others time to break through the armor, we're going to need to remove its shields entirely. And to do that, I need more time than is possible to set up a proper hack if I hit it with an Overload too."

I raise my hand a little. "Uh… I might be able to cut a hole in its shields. Maybe."

"Good." Tali says with a nod. "Do what you got to do. Garrus, after Splicer weakens the armature's shields as much as he can, finish them with an Overload. Then I'll hack the armature's power system and screw up its shielding."

"What do I do?" Ashley asks sounding peeved a little bit.

"When Shepard and the others start tearing its armor apart, light it up." I respond, shrugging.

Ashley shrugs. "Sounds good to me."

"Ready guys?" Tali asks.

I nod and activate Electro Bolt. Hell, I don't know if I can do this, I have barely any EVE left. How did I go through all of it so quickly?

"Go!" Garrus shouts.

I spin out of cover and hit the Armature with an Electro Bolt. Its shields flash brightly and its head snaps to look at me. Crap. I raise both my hands and start hitting it with bolts of electricity as fast as I can. The Armature's shields grow brighter and brighter with every bolt.

Suddenly Garrus rolls out of cover and throws up his arm, his omni-tool lit and ready. A bolt of electricity arcs out of it and busts right through its shields. Tali comes out next and points her omni-tool at it, typing rapidly. Suddenly the Armature's armor sparks and arcs with electricity.

"Get it Shepard!" Ashley shouts, coming out of cover too, firing her assault rifle.

Shepard rolls out of cover with his arms raised, his body glowing bright with a dark energy aura. He roars and thrusts his arms forward sending two balls of biotic energy to the Armature. The biotic Warps hit the Armature on its head and the armor literally starts to disintegrate off of its head. Wrex roars and holds up his arm, his body also glowing bright. He closes his fist and the Armature's head crushes itself turning into a crumpled mess of twisted metal, white lubricant fluid squirting out. The Armature starts to stomp around in circles.

Kaiden comes out next he raises both his arms high above his head and sends two I-Beam girders flying through the Armature, impaling it and pinning it to the ground. The Armature's head still looks around side to side.

Suddenly the Armature's head starts to glow with blue light.

"Oh Keelah!" Tali curses. "It's trying to fire! It's going to explode!"

Everyone dives for cover. Except for Ashley. She walks forward slowly firing her assault rifle at its head. The entire Armature starts glow bright with light. She's going to die!

Suddenly her assault rifle overheats and she draws her shotgun in a blink of an eye. She snaps it up to her shoulder and blasts the Armature's head off. A beam of blue light shoots out of the Armature's neck and finally it stops moving.

I get up from the ground slowly, brushing ash off of my front with my hand. Shit, that was intense.

Shepard takes a deep breath. "Nice one Ashley. Alright, here's where the mission really starts. Tali and Splicer, you're with me in the ruins. Everyone else is out here. Watch our backs; don't let any geth into the ruins."

"Aye, aye Commander." Kaiden says nodding.

Shepard starts leading Tali and me towards the ramp.

"So, Shepard." I say as we walk up the ramp toward the door. "Do we have any intel on what we should expect inside the ruins?"

Shepard shakes his head. "No. Unfortunately we're going in blind. The only thing we know right now is that there are some strange energy spikes coming from this area."

"What sort of energy spikes?" Tali asks, rolling her shoulders to stretch them.

Shepard shakes his head. "Unknown. But they're making the Normandy's computers go haywire."

We reach the door and Shepard walks up to the door controls. "Get ready."

I nod and raise my assault rifle at the closed door, and Tali does the same with her shotgun. Shepard types into the door controls and it opens with a mechanical whirring.

The second the door opens a cold chill wafts out and runs over me. Along with the cold a strange sound comes from deep below in the dark, but it just sounds like the wind running through the caverns deep down. I stare into the long metal tube, I can't see anything at the end.

Shepard frowns. "Looks like the power's out. Lights on."

I turn on the light on my helmet and walk in after Shepard and Tali. The door closes behind us soon after we enter, bathing us in darkness.

"Dark in here." I mumble, my voice echoing loudly.

"Yeah." Shepard responds quietly.

I sniff and frown. "Do you guys hear that?"

Shepard looks back at me. "Hear what?"

I frown again. "It's like a high pitched ringing noise."

Shepard and Tali stop and we're silent for a second. I can hear the noise clearly.

"Can you hear it?" I ask.

"No." Tali mumbles. "Are you sure it's not just comm interference?"

I shrug. "Maybe, let's keep going."

"I think I'm getting a little of that too." Shepard mumbles, tapping the side of his helmet.

Tali holds a hand to the side of her helmet. "Mine's fine."

We continue down the metal tube towards the ruin entrance, and all the while the chill and the ringing grow more persistent. I shiver.

"Sure is cold in here." I mumble.

Shepard nods. "Yeah…"

Tali looks in between us. "Are you guys kidding? It's an oven in here."

I frown and rub my hands. "Uh… No Tali. It's really cold in here."

Shepard looks back at her. "Yeah. It's freaking freezing."

Tali looks in between us again, confused. "Are you two joking? Seriously, are you kidding?"

I shake my head. "No. It's super cold in here."

"Really?" Tali snaps back, opening her omni-tool. "Because my omni-tool is picking up about 50 degrees Celsius in here."

I furrow my brows. 50 Celsius? That's like 120 Fahrenheit. That can't be right.

"Tali I think your omni-tool is busted." Shepard says frowning at her.

Tali shakes her head. "Never mind, we can sort this out later."

We reach the end of the tunnel and Shepard opens it. We walk into the ruins themselves, finding a wall of bright blue barriers staring back at us. Oh yeah. I forgot about those.

"Looks like the power's not entirely out." Tali mumbles.

Shepard nods. "The ruins must be drawing all the power from around here to power those barriers. They look solid as hell."

Shepard starts leading us down the walkway toward the elevators. Suddenly a trio of geth recon drones flies up at us from below.

"Geth!" Shepard shouts, snapping his assault rifle to his shoulder. "Take 'em out!"

Tali throws her arm up, her omni-tool fired up and ready. One of the geth suddenly starts to list and jerk in the air. It then quickly turns its gun on the other two, tearing them apart with its powerful gun, before crashing itself into a rock wall.

"Hacking…" Tali mumbles. "Got to love it."

"You're going to have to teach me how to do that." Shepard says with a smirk.

"Maybe later." Tali responds, pleasantly.

Was that flirting? If it was it wasn't very good. Shepard leads us to the elevators and presses the button. The elevator takes us down only one floor however.

"_Obstruction ahead."_ A VI announces on a garbled intercom. _"Please exit the elevator for you own safety and call the maintenance technician for assistance."_

Shepard sighs out his nose. "Great. Looks like we're doing this the hard way. Let's move."

He leads us out of the elevator and down the walkway toward the rock wall, where a natural ramp is carved into the stone. As we cross the walkways to get to the rock wall, another couple of geth drones pop up to greet us, twice as many as before.

I blast one with my shotgun once, sending one spinning off into the wall only to bounce back. Then once more, twice, to blast it in half and send sparks and white lubricant spraying into the air.

Shepard downs another by hitting it with a biotic Throw from above, sending it hurtling out of sight into the dark abyss below, followed by a dull boom. Tali hits a third geth with an overload, making it spin wildly out of control into another two, destroying them in the process. Nice. I wish I knew how to do that.

The last one starts to try and circle us, but I shoot it with my shotgun, blasting one side of it clean off. Shepard finishes it with a short accurate burst of assault rifle fire, enough to tear a hole through it.

It falls from view into the dark abyss below, and a dull pop soon follows.

"Come on." Shepard mumbles nodding at the broken elevator in the shaft. "Splicer you go first, check if it's clear."

I nod and hop down into the elevator shaft, landing on top of the broken elevator. There's only a small gap between the elevator and the top of the doorway, so I drop down to my stomach to peek in between. Looks clear.

"Hey guys I think it's cle-" I'm interrupted by a loud screeching from the elevator. Oh hell.

The broken elevator lurches and drops a few feet.

"Splicer!" Tali shouts in alarm dropping to the edge of the shaft. "Grab my hand!"

I run towards her, and leap to grab her hand just as the elevator collapses underneath me. I reach out to catch her outstretched hand, but I miss her by a hair's breadth. I hit the wall hard, spin a bit from the impact, and I plummet into the darkness.

"Splicer!" Shepard and Tali scream at me as I fall.

I curse in alarm and panic as I fall. I try to rotate myself so that I fall feet first. I manage it and feel a little better about this. But I hit a protrusion in the elevator shaft, sending me spinning out of control. My kinetic distributors fire, blasting the supports of elevator shaft apart, collapsing the walls around me.

I start hitting more warped metal protrusions jutting out of the sides of the collapsing elevator shaft, making me spin around out of control like crazy. Finally I hit the ground, hard enough to crack my helmet.

I black out for a split second. I cough violently and blink my eyes blearily. My helmet's HUD flickers and there's a thin crack through my right eye's visor.

"_Warning: Critical armor failure! Primary power systems failing! Secondary and emergency power systems failing! Detecting Class 12 armor ruptures in three locations: Left thigh center, center abdomen right, upper chest right. Vitals critical and dropping. Medical suites failing. Survival estimates: 0.03% survival probability."_

I cough violently and see blood splatter the inside of my helmet. I struggle and lift my head to see three jagged pieces of metal jutting out of my leg, stomach and chest. I cough again, spraying more blood on the inside of my helmet.

I look back up. As if my day couldn't get any worse. A bunch of rocks and girders fall toward me.

* * *

**?**

_I open my eyes slowly. Darkness greets me. I sit up and look around._

"_Hello again." The man sits across from me. It's not a man, or at least not in any literal sense. But calling it a man, is as close as I can get to describing it. What would I say? That it's a featureless distortion in this darkness? That it's a drop of black in an ocean of black. That it's a black pattern on black fabric? That it's an indent in an endless darkness?_

"_Who are you?" I ask._

"_I don't have a name." The man pauses and thinks. "Or at least I can't remember it. But I think it's the former. I don't have one. I don't need one."_

"_Who are you?" I ask again. "'I don't need a name?' That's nothing. I need an explanation."_

"_Nothing?" The man laughs. "A name is far from nothing. It can do so much! Think of it this way: How does the name Shepard, make you feel? It makes you feel something, whatever that may be. A name can make a man feel something. That's a powerful thing."_

"_You're avoiding the question." I growl angrily._

_The man nods. "Yes. I am."_

"_Who are you?! Where am I? What do you want with me? Am I dead? What?! Who is the Grim Reaper?! What does he want with me?! Why am I having these dreams?! What's happening to me?!" I scream at the man._

_It laughs again. "So full of questions. I'm so full of answers. There's an answer to all those questions, but I can't reveal them to you in detail. But I will answer them now, one by one. So:_

_Who am I? I am no one you know._

_Where are you? You're in the Darkness._

_What do I want with you? Nothing yet._

_Are you dead? Not yet but you will be if your friends don't find you soon._

_I'll skip 'what.' You should be more specific._

_Who is the Grim Reaper? Nothing important. He's insignificant. Young, cocky and stupid. A real fool. Don't bother with him, there are worse things to fear than him._

_What does he want with you? Quite simple. He thinks you're his pawn._

_Why are you having these dreams? Because he thinks he allows it._

_What's happening to you? Something… truly beautiful."_

_The thing smiles and reveals its only feature, a set of perfect, white teeth, hanging in the air._

_Teeth. _

**A/N: The Darkness gains a new entity: Teeth. Who is it? What is it? What does it want with Splicer?**

**Find out… Not in the next chapter because that's too easy. Yeah that's right, I want to keep you guys in the Dark. Heh he, Massive Shock references. Anyways, tune in next time, for a better look at who Teeth is, and a wonderful perspective from the Mass Effect team, as well as some awesome combat featuring biotics, bullets and badass-ery.**

**Thanks for Reading! I'll see you next week!**

**MB79**


	10. Ch 9: Therum P4- Teeth

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle."**

**~Lewis Carroll~**

* * *

**Ch. 9: Therum**

**Part 3- Teeth, Nine Steps from the Gates of Hell**

**?**

* * *

"_Something the matter?" The thing in the Darkness, whom I now call Teeth, asks._

_I shake my head, trying to get these thoughts out of my head. All these cryptic answers, all these infuriating questions! Am I ever going to get a straight answer? EVER?!_

"_Yes!" I snap back at it. "Yes, something is the matter! Everything you fucking told me! It doesn't make any sense! And the things you did tell me… they're not good!"_

"_Like what?" Teeth asks curiously._

_I frown at it. "How about the fact that I'm going to die?!"_

_Teeth shakes its shapeless, yet definite head. "You're not going to die… as long as your friends find you."_

"_Yeah, what if that doesn't happen? Am I going to stay here for all eternity, talking to you?" I ask infuriated._

"_As if that's a bad thing." Teeth smiles its toothy smile. "I'm not being clever. I just know that there are things you want to know, that I can tell you."_

"_How do you know that?" I growl at it. "How can you know that?"_

_That's when I notice that I can't move. But I don't panic. Teeth won't attack me, I don't think._

"_I know everything." Teeth responds instantly, without hesitation._

_I'm silent in disbelieving frustration for a moment. "What're you? Some sort of God?"_

_Teeth tilts its head to the side. "Hardly. I can't create lightning. Or turn a man inside out. Or tear a hole in space."_

"_If you know everything, then what's the meaning of life?" I ask, challenging it._

_Teeth tilts its head to the side again. "That depends."_

"_On what?" I ask, frowning._

_Teeth is silent._

"_Well?" I ask frustrated._

_It continues not to saying anything._

"_Oh, so I guess you want me to think that the meaning of life is 'That depends.'" I say, rolling my eyes._

_Teeth nods. "Yes."_

_I'm about to snap back at him, but I pause. That actually sort of makes sense. It's a general response. It can apply to anything. Weird… Alright then I'll really test if this guy knows everything. "What is the answer to ultimate question, of life, the universe, and everything?"_

_Teeth is silent for a while. "How about… 42?"_

"_Of course that's what you say." I sigh. "So you know everything?"_

_Teeth nods. "Yes. Or at least you think I do."_

"_Well do you or don't you?" I ask, again getting frustrated._

"_Well… How much do you know?" It asks._

_I frown. "What?"_

_Teeth is silent._

"_I don't know… Some? Enough? A lot? More than some, less than others." I respond, sounding dumb._

_Teeth tilts its head to the side. "Well… If you don't know everything, then relative to your own knowledge, all you know is everything you know. To the undiscriminating mind, that's everything. I know as much as you do."_

"_Are you me or something?" I ask frowning._

"_No." It responds. "Though that'd be something. I must say though that the paths you've taken are interesting."_

"_Have you been watching me?" I glare at it._

_Teeth nods. "Yes."_

"_Why?" I ask angrily._

_Teeth smiles again, revealing its horribly perfect Teeth. "Why not?"_

_I glare at it. "Stop it! Why can't you just give me a straight answer dammit!"_

"_Because!" It laughs at me. "You are asking questions that I can't answer specifically! It's against the rules! You have to find a question I can answer."_

_I think for a moment. "What is this place? The Darkness?"_

"_Good question!" Teeth smiles extraordinarily wide. "Good job! I can answer that now! The Darkness, or the Dark, or whatever you want to call it, it's a place outside of the realm of space-time, a place that the mind can't fathom, find, or touch, yet it can do all of those things at the same time. You see, it's the mind itself."_

"_The Dark is a figment of my imagination?" I ask confused._

_Teeth shakes its head. "No… no, that's not right. How to explain? Hm… Oh, well, I guess you could call it Limbo, or Purgatory. But it's not really those things. There are only three things that transcend space and time: The mind, the Dark, and the Absolute Energy. Of those three things, the only thing that you can actually perceive physically is the Absolute Energy, but we're not there yet. The mind is the marvel of life, the apex of existence. It can fathom anything, touch anything, find everything and consume everything. It's the ultimate technology. The Dark is the… sort of storage place or energy well that the mind dips into. That's because the Dark is and isn't connected to the mind at the same time… It's hard to explain, but basically the Dark is a space between space and time, that acts as a well for the mind."_

_I frown at Teeth. "So, the Dark is like a pathway to other minds?"_

_Teeth shakes its head again. "No! That's not it… No, the mind, isn't your mind, it isn't a sentient, human mind. You're not getting it… I'll just move on, since you asked about the Dark not the mind. Like I said… The Dark serves as a power well for the mind to dip into. It's like a blank canvas for the mind to paint with. It's sort of serves like a pathway, but not really. It's more like a gate or porthole into a plane of existence. See you're inside a place, outside existence. Consider yourself lucky!"_

"_Then how are you here? How is the Grim Reaper here? How can he have control over this place?" I ask confused._

"_The Dark is a thing to be controlled. And again, the Dark is simply a well. You could even go so far as to call it a junction. The Dark is a place that connects existence. You can connect to another level of existence from the Dark. That's what you see when you dream, believe it or not. You're looking through the Dark, at another plane of existence, controlling it. That's because you created it, and you're using the Dark's energy to power the control of that dream. The difference between the Grim Reaper, the Kraken, you, and me is that we use the Dark differently. The Grim Reaper, the Kraken, and myself, all use the Dark and dip into its own energy to control itself. We do that by creating an existence to exist in, and then we use it as a proxy to strengthen our hold of the Dark, so we can have better control of the Dark itself. How the Grim Reaper and the Kraken have figured out how to do this… I don't know. They must have been trying for millennia to discover this secret and they finally have it and they're using the Dark and the mind to their advantage…" Teeth's smile disappears. "Oh! It appears he's found you. We'll talk again soon."_

_The man shaped distortion that constitutes Teeth's being disappears and in its place a red light appears._

_Oh no. Not again._

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Do you think he survived that?" Tali asks, as Shepard helps her to the next level down.

Shepard grunts. "I don't see how he could have."

Tali swings onto the walkway, rolling as she lands. "I'm good. It's clear… Should we try to look for him?"

Shepard sighs and waits to answer and climbs off of the edge to lower himself down to the next level down. Suddenly there's a screaming in his head, and he screams back.

The pain is so intense that his body seizes and he blacks out, falling from the edge, toward the dark abyss of the elevator shaft.

"Shepard!" Tali shouts in alarm, diving to the edge, catching him by the arm.

He hits the wall but Tali keeps a hold on him, grunting with effort. "Ah! Keelah, you're heavy!"

Shepard responds only with a weak whimpering, his head lolled back and blood flowing from his nose. Tali takes a few deep breaths and pulls as hard as she can, bringing Shepard up a little. Her shields start taking hits and Tali snaps her head to look at a few geth troopers running down the walkway at her, assault rifles firing. Tali curses and draws her shotgun, returning a few shots.

She reacts quickly and pushes herself towards the edge, letting Shepard's added weight drag her off of the edge. She catches the edge and uses the momentum of the fall, to swing Shepard's limp body to the next level down. She lets go as he swings into the lower level. Tali lets go of the ledge just as she lets go of Shepard, letting his momentum and the momentum of his swing to drag herself after him.

Tali lands on top of him with a grunt. She breaths hard, her adrenaline pumping just as hard. She shakes her spinning head and looks around. She finds herself in a small alcove in the wall, with a dark narrow tunnel leading through the wall, not really a level.

Tali turns her attention back to Shepard, dragging him back from the edge. She takes his helmet off. Her first thought of why he went berserk and passed out was from heat stroke, despite the fact he said it was freezing down here. When in fact it was really freaking hot.

But upon removing his helmet and performing a quick diagnostic of his armor with her omni-tool she found that his armor functions were fine, including climate control. And her omni-tool told her that he had been drinking water regularly. She couldn't say the same for herself however, as she feels like she's sweat out her body's entire water supply and now she's swimming in it.

Tali frowns and tears a piece of cloth from the decoration of her suit. She uses Shepard's canteen to wet it and she flash cools it with a Cryo Blast from her omni-tool. Though it's frozen, it should melt pretty quickly, especially in heat like this. Tali places the already semi-melted cloth against Shepard's forehead, and she lays him flat on his back.

She draws her shotgun and sits down next to Shepard. "Lieutenant Alenko… Lieutenant Alenko come in, this is Tali'Zorah. Shepard is down and Splicer is MIA. I need support."

Kaiden's response comes as a barely intelligible mess of static interference_. "K- … I ca- … G- … -is w- … Geth f- … too ma- … h- … to fall back … T- mu- … -omm interfe- … … … eismi- -ivity… -eth bombar- … -eturning to ru- … Geth conver- … -ocation. I don't know how many g- … … … Try to ge- … -ow's Shepar- … -oing?"_

"He's unconscious. But he's alive. I don't know what's wrong with him, he's just passed out." Tali responds, only really able to make out the last statement. "I couldn't make out any of the other things you said, Kaiden."

"_Wh- … -bout Splice- … ?"_ Kaiden asks, his transmission still garbled with static, but Tali can guess what he says.

"I lost him. He fell down an elevator shaft and it collapsed a bit after. I don't know how long of a fall it is… but I can't be sure if he's alive or not. Please advise, should I go look for Splicer, or hold position and protect Shepard?" Tali is torn. On one hand, Splicer may still be alive and in need of help. Shepard however _is definitely_ in need of help, and he's completely defenseless at this point. And he takes priority over Splicer for the mission. But if Shepard was awake than he would want to look for Splicer. Right?

"_Tr- … … -issio- … … -iara T'soni. Y- … … -ear me? … -inue the … … … … Geth incom- …!"_ The transmission cuts.

"Lieutenant Alenko?" Tali asks alarmed. "Kaiden! I didn't catch that, what should I do?"

Tali gets no response and sighs in frustration. "Great."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"… _-lease advise, -ould I go lo- … -or Splicer, or –ld pos- and p- … -ect … –epard?"_ Tali asks, her radio call clouded with static.

Kaiden runs with the rest of the team, as the circle around to head back to the ruins, which they had to abandon because of another Geth aerial bombardment. "Try and do both!" Kaiden shouts into his comm. "Hide Shepard, continue the mission! Find Liara T'Soni! But keep Shepard safe! You hear me? Continue the mission. Once we get back to the ruins, I'll send Garrus in for support! … Shit! Geth incoming!"

Kaiden slides behind cover, throwing a biotic Throw as he slides into cover. The second he hits the rock he's using as cover, he spins around it and sprints out towards the geth, firing his pistol.

"Keep moving!" Kaiden shouts at his team. "Don't stop for anything!"

Wrex roars and barrels down a few geth, bashing them aside with the butt of his shotgun, making a path for the others to follow.

Ashley rushes forward, moving through the way Wrex cleared, shooting the downed geth with her assault rifle. Garrus sprints past next, moving exceptionally fast, faster than Kaiden could have guessed. And finally Kaiden brings up the rear, following the others as they get back to the ruins, which are… ruined even more by the geth bombardment.

"Fan out!" Kaiden shouts, signaling his team to spread out. "Secure the area! Dig in! Garrus, you're going into the ruins. Keep one eye out for Shepard and Tali, and keep another eye over your shoulder!"

"Lieutenant!" Ashley shouts, somewhat hotly. "Let me go in there. I'm better in close quarters and Garrus has more skills against synthetic enemies than I do."

"That a challenge Williams?" Garrus snaps back, clenching his fists, stopping halfway up the ramp.

Ashley just glares back.

"Garrus, go!" Kaiden shouts somewhat angrily, but still sounding cool headed. "Ashley, secure the perimeter. Now."

"Aye, aye, Lieutenant." Ashley responds, complying. If she was reluctant to, or disagreed with this order, it wasn't obvious.

Garrus proceeds into the ruins, alone.

"Geth! Incoming!" Wrex shouts, running back towards Kaiden. "We got geth!"

"Ashley! Snipe them!" Kaiden shouts at her, drawing his pistol.

He fires a few times into a large group of at least 20 geth, who fan out in separate directions.

"Wrex, cover our flank!" Kaiden barks at him, shutting a geth down with an Overload.

"I'm on it!" Wrex responds, glowing bright with biotics. He roars and collapses a bunch of pipes from a small fuel processing center to their right flank, crushing a number of geth and blocking the rest from circling around to hit their flank.

He turns around and hurls a grenade onto a fuel line to their left flank next. He detonates it and it explodes violently, destroying a large amount of geth moving to flank them, and causing a small rockslide to make flanking them much more difficult.

"Quick thinking!" Kaiden shouts in approval. "I like it! Let's push them back!"

Together the trio starts pushing the geth back to more defensible positions at the back of the ruins where they can be bottle necked. It looked like they might win this one.

But then the geth always have a backup plan.

"3 Geth drop ships, incoming!" Ashley shouts in alarm as they fly overhead, dropping 3 geth armatures at the mouth of the bottleneck.

"Fuck." Wrex grunts.

* * *

**A Few Moments Earlier…**

"… _Geth omm.- …!" _

Tali lowers her hand and gives up on trying to boost the signal with her omni-tool. There's too much metal in the crust, it's interfering with their transmissions. But Tali didn't catch any of what Kaiden had said.

So frowns and tries to weigh her options. On some level, she knows Splicer is still alive. But she needs to protect Shepard. And she doesn't know how many geth are in the ruins, what if she gets swarmed and trapped? She has no backup. And what if they capture Shepard? So many things could happen and it all limited her options.

She was left with one clear option, however: Continue the mission.

Tali had to find Dr. T'Soni, no matter the cost. But she couldn't leave Shepard behind. The problem now lies in finding a way to either bring him with her, or hide him so that the geth couldn't find him. There was a chance he might get up, but there's no telling what's wrong with him, or when he might wake up. Even if he did wake up now, Tali doesn't know if he'll be able to walk, let alone fight.

Tali looks down the narrow tunnel that is little more than a crack in the wall. It's pitch black, and she can't see the end, if there even is one. Tali hears a number of footsteps from up above. She quickly drags Shepard into the narrow tunnel, having to tip him over onto his side to fit him into the tunnel. Even she has to stand sideways slightly to fit in it.

She sees a light scan the area she was just in quickly before it disappears and the footsteps move on and die away quickly.

Tali lets out a breath she'd been holding. Shepard's pretty concealed in here, and the small outcrop that they were just on isn't very easy to get to. Tali decides to leave Shepard here and see what's at the end of the tunnel. Tali starts sidling her way down the tunnel in the opposite direction, her hand on her pistol.

She can't see anything, and she can't turn her omni-tool light because she can't reach it. And it's completely silent. All she can hear is her own breathing. Suddenly the ground gives way from underneath her and she falls.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Garrus walks down the walkway slowly, his steps slow and deliberate. He hears a small noise from below and he leans over it. He points his light down and sweeps it around the collapsed elevator shaft and into a small rock alcove in the wall of the shaft just a few feet below. He spots a small blue light under the rubble at the bottom of the shaft, and decides to investigate it. He runs down the walkway to the maintenance access shaft. He tugs open the small door and points his flashlight down towards the bottom.

He hops onto the ladder and slides down to the bottom.

Garrus kicks open the access door at the bottom and snaps his rifle up. After scanning the bottom of the elevator shaft and seeing that it's clear Garrus lowers his rifle and moves to the pile of rubble. He can still see the dull blue light. Garrus approaches the pile of rubble and starts digging.

What he finds isn't what he expected. "What the fuck?"

Garrus suddenly starts hearing a dull screaming, that crescendos and gets very clear. He snaps his rifle up at the wall from which it's coming and through a small hole in the wall, Tali comes flying out. She lands on the ground, rolling a few times before stopping on her back. She groans and shakes her head, sitting up.

"Tali?" Garrus says, confused. "What're you doing?"

"You know just… exploring." Tali says with a small sigh. "Glad you could make it."

"I just happened to be passing though." Garrus says as he helps her up and starts to examine her, rubbing her arms and pressing on her ribcage.

"What're you doing?" She asks, curiously watching him as he presses on her ribcage with the palm of his hand.

"Checking for broken bones." He responds, putting a hand on the back of her neck and shaking her gently. "Feel any pain?"

She shakes her head. "No."

"Good. I didn't want to have to carry anybody today." Garrus says with a sigh.

Tali chuckles. "Then you're not going to like this: Shepard's unconscious."

"Great…" Garrus sighs again. "Where is he?"

Tali looks up the elevator shaft. "Um… up there somewhere?"

Garrus sighs loudly and shakes his head.

"Well I could find it if I saw it! I don't know how far I fell just now!" She shouts, flabbergasted.

"Whatever, you got to see this." Garrus says walking over to the pile of rubble.

Tali walks up to it and gasps.

* * *

_**?**_

_The Grim Reaper's arm plunges out of the Dark and seizes me. The second it touches me the Noise screams again and I grimace in pain._

"_There you are, slave." The Grim Reaper growls. "Your resistance is pointless. Your fighting is useless. Give in to my will and you will know power like you've never felt. Order like you've never seen. Genius like you've never understood. Give in to my will, slave. Can't you see that you're nothing to me? Can't you see that your fighting is useless?"_

_I sneer at it. "I got away from you didn't I?"_

_The Grim Reaper laughs. "As a fly escapes death by human hands. But within a day they are dead by some other form. My control of you is inevitable you fool."_

_Behind the Grim Reaper, in the dark, I see a smile appear. A smile of perfect white teeth._

_I smile back._

_The Grim Reaper screams at me and squeezes and I howl in pain. It leans in close and makes a deep robotic noise like growling._

"_You are about to die. I need you to live." The Grim Reaper makes the growling noise again. "Live, slave."_

_Live._

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Tali and Garrus stare at a large glassy orb, about twice the size of a basketball with about a 2 foot diameter. The orb appears to be made of some glass-like material and filled with some sort of dark cloudy fluid that swirls around the inside. There's a strange blue glow inside that pulses like a heartbeat. It almost looks like lightning, flashing in the dark clouds of a storm.

"What is it?" Tali asks, with a frown.

Garrus shakes his head. "I don't know. But I haven't seen anything like it before."

"Do you think it's Prothean?" Tali asks, staring at it.

"Maybe. What's that glow?" Garrus lays his hand on the orb and runs a hand over its smooth surface. "It's… It's really cold. Like unnaturally cold."

Tali frowns and places her own hand on it. "Hm. You're right. It's freezing."

"You can feel that through your bucket?" Garrus asks.

Tali nods. "Yes. I might ask the same question about that tin can you're wearing."

Garrus frowns. "Are you referring to my armor? Speaking of which how does that suit even protect you from bullets? It's just like a second layer of skin."

"Are you suggesting something?" Tali asks giving him a look.

Garrus shakes his head. "Never mind. We should go back to get Shepard."

Tali nods. "What about the orb?"

Garrus shrugs. "Leave it. We can't do anything with it and I think it's stuck to the ground anyways."

Tali nods and starts to follow Garrus to the maintenance shaft but stops. "Wait… Did you hear that?"

Garrus stops too and listens. "The hell?"

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Kaiden ducks behind cover again, waiting for his pistol to cool. It's a wonder Wrex and Ashley haven't been injured yet, over bumps, burns, scrapes, grazes and bruises. Kaiden took a clean hit to the mid-thigh and though he doesn't feel any pain and he hasn't examined it yet, the armor on his thigh is melted to hell.

Kaiden takes a deep breath and rises from cover again. He makes a small group of geth weightless with a powerful Biotic Lift. Wrex charges forward and smashes into the ground with his fist, blowing his Barrier out in a Nova, blowing the geth sky high.

Kaiden ducks down again and raises a hand to his ear. "Shepard! Commander! Can you hear me?!"

He pauses and waits for a response but none comes. Kaiden curses and pounds on the rock with his fist in frustration.

"_Ground Team!"_ Joker's voice says coming in over Kaiden's omm.. _"Ground Team come in! Commander are you there?!"_

Kaiden raises a hand to his ear again. "Joker, this is Kaiden. Shepard's underground and the metal in the crust is interfering with our comms. You can talk to me, what's the situation."

"_We're running out of time. The Normandy's starting to feel like a furnace. You guys need to finish the mission in the next hour or we're only going to have a only few options available to us."_ Joker says sounding stressed to hell.

"Which are?" Kaiden asks with a sigh.

"_One: We can a turn into French Fries up here and you guys get to get spiked down there by the geth. Two: We vent our heat up here and expose our position to the geth cruisers. But doing that allows us to have the option to EVAC you guys without a problem… other than the cruisers. Three: Normandy goes into passive mode, which will buy you guys a little time, but we won't be available for immediate EVAC or assistance. Four: Normandy leaves the system, vents heat, comes back and picks you guys up. That might be the best option, but it leaves a huge blind spot in which you guys have got to pull through until we come back to get you."_ Joker sighs. _"In all of these situations you guys are left without support and we risk dying up here. There is the option of you guys getting the job done in the next hour, and then we get out of here ASAP. That one is probably the best. Oh. No pressure either. You don't have to pick those other plans until I tell you we have to. In like… 58 minutes? Oh… never mind 55 minutes. I didn't take into account the time I was talking… No pressure. Normandy out."_

"Ah… Balls." Kaiden mumbles to himself. There's nothing he can do to speed up the guys down below, all he can do is hold his position and pray to the almighty lava deity that rules this hell planet that they hurry the crap up.

"Geth drop ships incoming!" Ashley shouts in alarm.

"Oh… Balls!" Kaiden shouts in frustration.

Wrex laughs to himself. "I'm starting to think this little trip of mine was worth it."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Garrus snaps his rifle up and points it at the orb after turning around to look at it. The orb is giving off a screeching noise, like a knife trying to cut through glass, and its glowing brighter and brighter.

"What's going on?" Tali asks, confused, her shotgun raised at it as well.

"I don't know." Garrus growls. "But I'm not waiting around to find out."

Garrus opens fire on the orb. Within the first few shots, the orb explodes and the tiny pieces disintegrate leaving no trace it was there in the first place.

The second the orb disappears, the screeching noise stops and is replaced by coughing. Garrus spins around and faces a pile of rubble in another part of the elevator shaft. Garrus nods at it and Tali moves forward slowly.

She starts moving the rubble and after a moment of heart squeezing tension, it reveals a human hand, bloody and twitching.

"Splicer?" Tali asks in surprise. "Splicer! Garrus help me out over here."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Shepard awakes with a start, and a sudden intake of breath. He looks around and finds only darkness, but a dull light to his right. He starts crawling towards it, finding it very difficult to move, and to breath. He feels like something is crushing him, like the darkness that envelops him has a weight, an actual tangible mass. Its thick like blood, to the point of suffocation, and heavy like sand. Shepard starts squirming his way forward faster, towards the light that feels like it's getting farther and farther away.

Finally he collapses out of the narrow tunnel, and instantly he feels a million times better. The air is fresher and not stuffy and hot, his chest isn't constricted anymore and he can breathe. Shepard rolls onto his back and breathes slowly and calmly, thankful to be out of the tunnel.

Shepard opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling above him. He wipes his forehead to get the sweat off of his brow, but it immediately replaces itself. He feels like he's swimming in a sauna suit or something. Shepard sits up and gets to his feet slowly, his legs shaking. He bends down and picks his helmet off of the ground near the corner of the small out crop he stands on. As he bends to pick it up, he notices a small damp torn piece of purple cloth. He picks it up and examines it, recognizing it as part of Tali's suit. He stuffs it into his belt and pulls his helmet back over his head.

How long was he out?

Where is everyone else?

Did they leave him behind? Again?

Shepard checks himself for injuries, finding none and takes an inventory of his equipment, finding it all there. He sniffs and stares over the edge of the outcrop, staring down the collapsed elevator shaft. He listens carefully and now notices noises coming from the bottom, muffled shouting and the sound rocks make when they hit other rocks.

Shepard looks around for a way down, finding none. He looks back at the narrow tunnel, leading into darkness. He's not going back in there. Shepard unclips the rappelling line from his belt and stares down at the bottom. He never liked rappelling back in training, and the last time he'd even done it was back in training. Shepard takes a deep breath and attaches the rappelling line to the ground, letting it automatically dig itself into the ground. Shepard climbs over the edge, keeping a tight grip on the rope. He lowers himself slowly towards the bottom.

The dream he had, he can't get it out of his mind. Nor could he recall it exactly. It was one of those dreams, where you dreamt absolutely nothing, but you remember it. You remember not seeing anything. You remember not hearing anything. You remember being alone, in the darkness, listening to it because it's so tangible and infinite. It scared him.

Shepard continues rappelling until he can see the bottom clearly. What he finds pleases him, and make shim sigh in relief.

"Garrus. Tali." Shepard calls, as he descends, only a few feet left to go.

They look up at him and they both physically slack with relief.

"Shepard!" Tali says in relief. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"I'm fine." Shepard responds, unclipping the rope from his belt and approaching them. "What're you two doing?"

Garrus nods him over. "We think we found Splicer, but some of these rocks are too heavy to move."

"Stand back." Shepard says cracking his neck. He glows with a biotic aura, dark energy wafting off him like flames. He raises his arms, flexing every muscle in his body and focusing with his entire being. The rocks suddenly fly up into the air, hang in mid-air for a few seconds before crumpling together into one huge boulder. Shepard tosses the boulder to the side, with a breath of exertion.

"Splicer." Garrus says, rushing over to him, impaled in three places on a pile of warped metal.

Splicer coughs and looks over at him slowly. He tries to speak but just more ragged coughs come out.

"Get him off of that. Move it, let's go! We're running on borrowed time here!" Shepard commands rushing over to Splicer's side. They each lay hands on him, picking a spot near one of his impaled points. Shepard near his head and his impaled chest, Garrus at his side near his impaled stomach, and Tali at his other side next to his impaled leg.

"Ready? On three: One, two and three!" Shepard lifts with all his might, pulling Splicer off of the jagged piece of metal protruding from his chest, they all manage to lift him off of the elevator, carrying him over to the side, lowering him to the ground gently. Shepard rushes over to his side, switching spots with Tali, his omni-tool open and ready to apply medi-gel.

Tali removes Splicer's helmet and some blood spills out as she removes it. Once off, Splicer coughs, his face covered with blood, especially around the mouth and nose, but some dribbling out of wounds on his scalp.

"Commander, he's bad." Garrus mumbles. "I don't think he'll make it."

"Some of his wounds are arterial." Shepard mumbles applying medi-gel to his thigh, only to have to reapply it a moment later to try and stop the bleeding. "Medi-gel alone won't stop the bleeding."

"His vitals are dropping." Tali mumbles, her omni-tool scanning Splicer. "And his armor's emergency life support system is failing."

Garrus shakes his head. "We might have to leave him Commander."

"I don't know what the turian military's policy on fallen comrades is but humans don't leave a man behind. Ever." Shepard growls at him.

"Commander, he's a lost cause." Tali says with a shake of her head. "He's going to die if we don't get him out of here but we can't move him. We're out of options. We need to call for a medical EV-… What the hell?"

"What is it?" Garrus asks, sounding concerned.

"His vitals… they're going back up… fast." Tali mumbles.

Shepard looks down at Splicer and widens his eyes as he watches Splicer's wounds literally close themselves and heal before his eyes. Splicer coughs another mouthful of blood onto the ground before sitting up, grunting and clearing his throat. He wipes his mouth of blood and gives a small smirk and says…

* * *

…

"What did I miss?" I ask, smiling a little.

Shepard gives me an annoyed and confused look. "What do you mean 'what did I miss?' You were impaled on an elevator a few seconds ago, your vitals dropping past Critical condition to catastrophic and all you have to say is 'What did I miss?'"

Garrus shakes his head. "How did you do that?"

Tali crosses her arms. "Yes, Splicer. How?"

"Natural talent." I roll my eyes. "I told you guys earlier: I'll explain in depth on the Normandy."

"That'll be an interesting conversation." Shepard says with a sigh. "But for now, we need to get that asari. Let's move."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading. I was in a rush last week so I forgot to mention, but I posted my custom Shepard's face on the Mass Effect Custom Faces database on masseffect2faces-dot-com. Just hit up my profile or go straight to their website and type Mockingbird79 into the search box. You should find it easy. If you want a good idea of what Shepard from my story looks like, it's that. Awesome? Awesome. Not much else to say, got to run.**

**Thanks for reading this week you guys, and I hope to see you again next week.**


	11. Ch 10: Therum P5- Biotic Storm

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

"**Remember tonight for it is the beginning of always."**

**~Dante Alighieri~**

* * *

**Ch. 10: Therum**

**Part 4- Biotic Storm and Reflection**

**4:21 PM January 4, 2183**

* * *

I poke my head over the edge of the walkway to make sure the coast is clear. Looks good. The geth inside the ruins seem to be focusing on the top and bottom levels of the ruins to keep us from getting out and the others from getting in. We almost got caught down in that collapsed elevator shaft that was almost my coffin. Fast Healing wouldn't normally heal something that bad. I mean, I was fucked up. I know I had broken a lot of bones, and I'd lost a lot of blood. I don't know how but I came back from that.

But we can worry about that later, for now we need to get to Liara. And it looks like we finally found her.

I pull myself up and approach the ray shield. Liara isn't looking at me, she stares blankly up at the ceiling humming tunelessly to herself.

Dr. Liara T'Soni was definitely not my favorite character of the series. I know a lot of people liked her, and I wanted to, I REALLY did want to like her but I didn't. There are several reasons for my dislike of her character that I won't get into now, but needless to say I'm not exactly thrilled to be here. I mean, I almost died like… 40 times today just to get her, and I don't even like her that much! I'm being an ass, I know that, and I'll give her the benefit of the doubt by giving her a chance to be my friend, because Lord knows that I need at least one friend on the ship. And she _is_ a nice person, that's for true. Not to mention that's she's a super biotic, or at least she will be in a few years. _And_ she's going to become the Shadow Broker at some point, a benefit I'm _going_ to exploit, that's without a doubt. But to do that I suppose we have to be at least amicable to each other. So…

I clear my throat loudly.

She looks down at me and gasps. "Oh! Hello there. Um. Are you here to rescue me?"

I shrug. "No. I was just passing through."

"Oh I was under the impression that most people wouldn't go through the trouble of fighting through hordes of geth just to get into some random Prothean ruins. But I don't have much experience dealing with humans, so I suppose I can't be sure of your motives. But… If it wouldn't be too much trouble… could you get me out of here?" Liara asks hopefully.

I frown at her. "Kind of busy here, actually."

"Oh… So you're going to leave me here?" She asks sounding horribly crushed.

I shrug. "'Fraid so."

Liara sighs. "Oh…"

"I'm kidding." I say chuckling.

Liara raises her… eyebrows. "What? Oh! You were making a joke. I see. Yes. That's very funny. So are you going to get me out of here now?"

I smirk. "In a sec. Let me get my boss."

I walk over to the edge of the walkway and lean over. "Shepard, it's clear. And I found our scientist."

Shepard pulls himself up and over the edge of the walkway and with a sigh he walks up to Liara.

"Dr. T'Soni?" Shepard asks, drawing his assault rifle and cradling it in his arms. "I'm Commander Shepard, a Council Spectre. I'm here to get you out of here."

"Yes, good. Thank you." Liara says sounding relieved.

"How do we get you out of there?" Shepard asks as I help Tali up over the edge of the walkway and we both haul Garrus up. "And make it quick with the explanation, we're a little short on time here."

"I'm afraid that these barriers are impenetrable. And that the only way to shut it off is from my side of the barrier." Liara sighs heavily. "The only way you can get me out of here, is to get in here yourself, somehow. But, like I said, that's impossible."

"We'll figure something out." Shepard says walking towards a walkway leading down. "We'll be back. Splicer, stay here and make sure the geth don't follow us down."

"Sure thing boss." I respond saluting sarcastically. I really shouldn't be such an ass, they probably think I have no discipline whatsoever.

I don't, but I definitely don't want to show them that.

I draw my assault rifle and I turn around and face Liara, who is staring blankly at me.

"Skeptical, are we?" I ask, with a smirk.

"Of what?" Liara asks, sounding a measure both confused and frustrated.

Rude. "Of Shepard getting you out of there."

Liara looks back up at the ceiling. "Let's just say I'm not going to let my hopes ride on that."

I shrug. "Well, it sounds like they're doing something down there. I can hear gun fire."

"Shouldn't you be helping them? Why are you here again?" Liara asks, with a bit of hostility.

Why doesn't anyone like me? "I'm here making sure that no geth come down from the top to support the ones at the bottom…"

Suddenly three metallic objects fly past the walkway straight toward the bottom. I run to the edge and look over. My first assumption is meteors. But we're inside.

My second assumption is geth. I forgot they can do that droppy thing.

Well my job became instantly pointless.

"I would agree with you there." Liara says sighing again.

Wow, I haven't had any trouble with the inner monologue in a while. I wonder why that is?

Oh well.

"I'm still not going away. I was ordered here and that's where I'll stay for the time being." I say turning back to her.

Suddenly there's a bright red light from below and the whole place starts shaking.

"What is that?" Liara asks panicked. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." I lie. I know it was the mining laser. "But what I do know is that this place is falling apart as it is."

"You're right." Liara says, panicking more. "Your friends need to get here as soon as possible."

At that moment, I see them appear behind Liara on the huge elevator platform. Perfect timing.

Liara looks over her shoulder at them, looking surprised. "What? How did you get in here?"

"We found a big gun." Garrus replies, smirking.

"Thank the Goddess that you made it in!" Liara says sounding relieved. "The controls to release me are right over there. Hurry! Whatever you did has made the ruins unstable. They could collapse at any minute!"

Shepard quickly shuts down the shielding and Liara drops to the ground. I rush inside and help her to her feet. I turn back and see a number of geth running towards us.

"We got geth!" I shout, firing at them with my assault rifle.

"Everyone to the elevator let's move!"

I turn around and sprint to follow Shepard and the others as they race towards the elevator. The elevator starts moving up the instant I get onto it. It looks like we don't have time for fucking around today.

"Ugh, Shepard if I die in here…" I pause. Stealing lines now, Rob?

"You'll what?" Shepard snaps back sarcastically.

"I don't know… I'll haunt you." I glare at him. "I'll haunt you real good."

The elevator slows down and stops at the top.

"Fan out!" I hear a huge booming voice roar. "I want that asari alive. Kill the rest."

A squad of 12 geth fan out around the room, surrounding us. A humongous krogan steps into the room, with 2 geth troopers flanking him.

"Thanks for getting the asari for me human. And thanks again for bringing her to me. You're making my job easier and easier." The krogan draws a huge shotgun from his back and holds it lazily in his arms. "Now if you'd like to shoot yourselves in the head, that'd be just great."

"You want the asari?" Shepard asks, snapping his rifle up and pointing it at the krogan. "You'll have to take her from us."

"Sounds good to me." The krogan replies, lazily. "Shooting yourselves would've made my job boring anyways. Kill them."

I dart to the side, drawing my pistol. I shoot one of the geth in its head a few times before I tackle it to the ground. I roll over it quickly and I get back to my feet. I raise my foot high and bring it down hard on the geth's hole covered head, crushing it, and spraying the lubricant up my leg.

Gross.

I holster my pistol and charge at another one, drawing my shotgun. It turns to look at me, then swings its rifle to fire at me. I slide just as I reach it, narrowly avoiding a burst of fire from its gun. I stop right in front of it, my shotgun leveled. I pull the trigger and blast the geth in half with my shotgun. I get to my feet quickly and hold the writhing geth torso down with my foot, blasting its head off with my shotgun, finishing it off finally.

I take a quick scan of the area and spot Shepard fighting the krogan. The krogan isn't even using that cannon of a shotgun, he's just running after Shepard, taking his shots.

The krogan bashes Shepard to the ground and goes to stomp him. Shepard rolls out of the way and shoots the krogan again with his shotgun.

The attack seemed virtually useless, as the krogan didn't even flinch. But it did take out his kinetic barrier which left him open for another attack. Unfortunately it looks like Shepard's gun has overheated.

The krogan lights ups with a biotic aura suddenly and starts floating up into the air slowly.

I spot Liara glowing bright with her own aura, sweat beading her face as she lifts the krogan into the air.

Shepard spots his chance and rolls back to his feet, dropping his weapon and glowing bright with biotics. He pulls both his arms back and blasts the krogan away into the wall, a small explosion of dark energy blasting out from the krogan as he flies off.

Shepard grabs his shotgun again and charges at another geth.

That was badass.

Only a few geth left.

I charge another one, as does Tali apparently.

Tali shoots it, making it stumble backwards. I shoot it next making it stumble further. Then Tali shoots it, making it collapse against a wall. We both reach it and take turns shooting it with our shotguns.

After about 8 shots each we stop and look at each other.

"Geth don't die easy do they?" I ask, panting.

She shrugs. "Actually, that depends on where you shoot them. Aim right and you can take them out easy."

"We can talk about this later maybe?" I ask glancing over my shoulder at Garrus stabbing a geth in the head with a knife.

"Die! You! Stupid! Robot! Bastard!" Garrus roars, stabbing in between words. He stops stabbing it, leaving his knife in its head. He straightens and roars at the ceiling.

I smirk and shake my head. Suddenly I spot the krogan running at Shepard who's too busy shooting a geth to notice.

"Shepard!" I shout, running towards him. "Watch out!"

Shepard turns around just in time to be clipped in the shoulder by a shot from the krogan, making him spin to the ground. The krogan walks up to finish him off but I raise my shotgun and shoot at him wildly.

The shot hits the krogan's arms, luckily, making him drop the shotgun. He quickly draws his massive hand cannon pistol and shoots me in the shoulder, taking me off of my feet and making me do a half backflip onto the ground.

The krogan turns to finish Shepard off but he freezes in place, a biotic Stasis shield, covering him.

I look up at Liara who has her arms raised again, a biotic aura surrounding her. She looks like she's struggling considerably.

"Drop the Stasis Liara!" Shepard roars, reaching for the krogan's massive shotgun.

Liara drops the Stasis, falling to all fours form exhaustion. Shepard hits the krogan with a biotic Warp and braces the shotgun against his hip. He pulls the trigger and the top half of the krogan disappears in a gory chunky cloud of red and meat.

Shepard shouts in discomfort and hobbles up to his two feet. "Goddamn! That shotgun has kick."

Shepard runs over to Liara who's collapsed on the ground unconscious. "Hell, she's passed out from dehydration. Splicer! You're on pack mule duty. Grab the asari and let's get the fuck out of here before it collapses!"

I run over to Liara and pick her up in a fireman carry and I start following the others as fast as my feet will take me, and as fast as carrying a person will allow. Why is running always 20 times more awkward to do when you're carrying something?

And the place is coming down on top of us. Crap, I'm going to die if I keep moving this slow.

I speed it up, not bothering with trying to make it a smooth ride for Liara, instead running as fast as I can, letting her bounce up and down on my shoulder. She's going to be really sore later.

We reach the metal tube thing to get out and Shepard, Tali, and Garrus hurry out, but I'm still lagging behind pretty far. A huge chunk of the ceiling hits the ground next to me and I hop to the side to avoid it and I keep running. Once I'm near the tube I throw Liara into it and dive the rest of the way into the metal tube.

"Holy shit…" I gasp, panting.

"Not done yet!" Shepard shouts in an "Oh crap" voice.

I look down at the entrance tube and see a flood of lava approaching fast like rapids in a river. Holy hell!

I grab Liara and throw her back onto my shoulders, sprinting up the tube. Pieces of the tube start falling off behind me as the ruins collapse into some sort of lava lake or something. The lava climbs up at us at an alarmingly rapid rate. I run faster than I thought my feet could carry me. And finally and without a second to spare I run outside and down the ramp.

Thank goodness I'm out of that death trap.

But it looks like I just walked into another one. 6 armatures advance slowly towards the bottom of the ramp, firing their pulse cannons and rapid fire pulse guns at Kaiden and the others, who're pinned down at the bottom of the ramp.

And knowing that I'm a sitting duck up here in the middle of the ramp up to the ruins, I sprint the rest of the way down and get into cover behind a large rock next to Tali and Garrus.

"What the crap?!" I shout, dropping Liara and drawing my assault rifle. "Why are there so many?!"

Garrus shoots over the top of his cover blindly. "I don't know, just shoot at them!"

Shepard slides into cover next to us, his hand on his ear. "Ground team to Normandy, come in Normandy! We're pinned down by geth armatures and we've got the asari! We need EVAC ASAP!"

"_Roger that Commander." _Joker responds calmly. _"And not a moment too soon, we're cooking up here. Coming in hot."_

"Danger Close!" Shepard shouts into his comm.

"_Splash in 3… 2… 1…" _The Normandy soars overhead and the armatures explode in huge balls of bright bluish flame like magic. I duck down and cover my head as debris and heat waves pass over our cover.

Holy crap, I'm going to be glad to get out of here. The Normandy circles back and lowers itself close to the ground, its ramp descending.

"Everybody move!" Shepard shouts, standing and running towards the Normandy. "On the ship, let's go!"

I grab Liara and run over to the Normandy's ramp. I toss her onto it and climb on myself. I drag her back away from the ramp and draw my assault rifle again to return fire at the scores geth troopers who are gathering at the entrance to the ruins.

The Normandy starts to pull away once everyone's on and with the door still open.

"Alright, who's injured?" Shepard asks panting.

"Cuts and burns, lots of burns. But nothing major. I'm good, Skipper." Ashley says, also panting.

"I should have my leg looked at but I think I'm good." Kaiden says nodding at his leg.

"No suit ruptures… Huh. I thought I took a good hit earlier. Oh well." Tali says shrugging and examining herself.

"I'm good, Commander." Garrus says.

I shrug. "I'm alright now."

"I'm good, Shepard." Wrex laughs despite the fact that we can all clearly see his armor is covered in bullet holes. Nice, Wrex.

Shepard nods. "That went well then. Alright. Splicer, take Liara to the Med-Bay quick, then everyone report to the briefing room for a mission debrief once battle stations are secured and underway stations are called. Everyone, take 10 and get some water. You've earned that. You're dismissed."

I pick Liara up and carry her over to the elevator and ride it up to the crew deck. As the elevator takes its horrendously slow trip to the next deck, Liara starts to stir. She groans and places a hand on her forehead she opens her eyes blearily and looks at me.

"Welcome back." I say smiling a little.

Liara just looks at me confused then looks around the elevator a bit. "Thanks… where am I?"

"You're on the SSV Normandy, a top secret Alliance vessel, co-designed by the turians in a sort of… mutual trust sort of thing? Any ways, the Alliance gave the ship to Shepard to use in his hunt for…" I pause. Oh yeah she's been in a hole in the ground for the last forever hasn't she? She has no idea what I'm talking about. "Uh… Well we'll get to all that in the debriefing. How're you feeling?"

"A little dizzy." Liara replies, pretty much right as the doors open. "And sore. Everything hurts. What happened?"

"You passed out in the fight at the top of the elevator after you froze the krogan. You were dehydrated I think. You shouldn't have exerted yourself so much, you were trapped in a ray shield for… how long?" I ask, frowning at her.

"Several days." Liara replies, blinking.

"Well it's no wonder you passed out." I say, walking into the Med-Bay. "Doctor Chakwas!"

Chakwas looks up and gets to her feet instantly pointing at a bed. "Put her over here."

I nod and place Liara on the bed indicated by Chakwas. "She passed out on the planet surface. She's been trapped in a Prothean ray shield for several days without any food or water."

"It's a wonder you're even awake right now, Miss…" Chakwas pauses, waiting for Liara to say her name as she readies an IV.

But Liara doesn't say anything, she just blinks at Chakwas. "Miss?"

"What is your name?" Chakwas asks, politely.

"Oh! Liara. Dr. Liara T'Soni." Liara replies awkwardly.

I turn around and walk out of the Med-Bay, deciding that they probably should have some privacy. I laugh a little to myself. Liara's awkward. It's funny.

Alright so, what now? I can take a moment to myself. That sounds like such a luxury right now. I grab a glass of water and I walk over to the Mess Hall table and sit down with a very audible sigh.

I remove my helmet and set it on the table and with another sigh, smaller though, I slump down in the chair and stretch my legs out. I take a drink from the cool water and close my eyes, tipping my head back to rest against the back of the chair. Feels like years since I just sat down. And this water is Heaven. I feel like half the water in my body is now sitting in between my skin and my armor in the form of perspiration. Frigging hell that planet was hot. I grab a conveniently placed, yet sort of random, towel from a spot on the table nearby and I rub my face clean with it, not even needing to wet it due to the level of perspiration on my face and finding I created a lovely work of art on it, making it spotted black with soot, red with dried blood and greyish with sweat. Brings new meaning to the term blood, sweat and tears I guess.

I wonder which planet will be next? Feros? Noveria? Hopefully not Noveria. I'd hate to go from one whether extreme to the next without much of a break in between. I take another drink from the glass and sigh with pleasure.

Ugh, man I feel slimy. This is gross, I need to get this armor off, but I can't until Joker calls Battle Stations secured. In the meantime I'll just relax right here and contemplate the mission.

Well first: The Mako is a piece of garbage. Sure it's a fancy, expensive piece of garbage that can take more bullets than Wrex, but it handles like a 5 legged deer straight out of the womb. I'm pretty sure I have a concussion from all the times I banged my head around in there, and I feel like my intestines may be a bit out of place.

I rub my stomach which still feels a little queasy. Gosh it's a wonder I didn't hurl all over the place in there, I felt like I was at the edge of falling straight into projectile vomiting city. And do you know the worse part about all that is?

The Mako is used for every… goddamn… mission! Gah! I'm going to be miserable for all time!

Alright what else notable happened… Oh!

I guess I should at least try to figure out why the intensity of the mission was like 500 times amped up from the vanilla mission in Mass Effect. There were HORDES of geth today, at least 20 armatures and multiple geth cruisers. And I don't remember there being aerial bombardments, volcanic eruptions OR any elevator collapsing in the game.

For whatever reason, the continuum and the Balance have been tampered with and changed to make the universe different. And there has to be a better explanation than just because of me. I mean, I've never even come close to coming in contact with the geth, so how does my being in this universe affect the activities and numbers of the geth?

That brings me to my next confusing occurrence: The dreams and the visions. Why are they back all of the sudden? The Grim Reaper is back and trying to take control of me again. But I don't understand, he let me go, he disappeared from my life. Why is he back all of the sudden, trying to take back control? After the Battle of the Citadel, and my horrible sickness, my dreams were nightly.

I juggled the idea that the Grim Reaper brought on my sickness somehow. That he was using it to weaken me somehow and make me more susceptible to his control. But that doesn't make any sense because after the last dream he tried to kill me and I managed to fight back, to take control of myself. I forced it out, and before I did, before I sent it back down into the bowels of its brethren, I heard its name, its true name:

Verizaziem. I don't know what that is, or what it means. But it is the Grim Reaper. And I know that one day, I'll hear that name again, outside of my dreams. On that day, I swear I will end him, and free myself once and for all from his control.

But maybe he isn't in control? Is he really the higher power here? Is the Grim Reaper really the one that's most powerful?

During my sickness, I discovered the Kraken. The Kraken commanded a sea of Hatred and the flames of Hunger, like the Grim Reaper commands the screaming Dark and the noiseless Noise. The Kraken seemed to control the Grim Reaper, or at least it had more power than it.

But maybe even the Kraken isn't the one calling the shots?

Teeth.

That's the number one thing on my mind right now. Teeth. What is it? Is it their leader? Was it trying to fool me, get me to trust it? It made the Grim Reaper and the Kraken to be something different from it, but it still didn't feel right. Teeth felt… in the simplest way of saying, it felt heavy and encompassing. Like sand covers you, its mere presence engulfs you. Its words were cryptic but good, it told me what I needed to know.

And what's more, I can remember it. The Grim Reaper is a vague blur in my mind, with certain standalone details that help give me an idea of his evil. He told me _some_ interesting information

But Teeth, it's like I can talk to it right now. It did say the first time that if I needed it, it'd be there. I don't know what that means but in my head at least that means I can just call it and it'll come.

Hm… Teeth?

Nothing.

I don't know why I thought that might work. Why do I even want to talk it? I don't trust it that's for sure. Not by a long shot, but I think it's because it has answers to questions that I've wanted answers to for a very long time. Like why the Grim Reaper is plaguing my dreams, and what it wants with me in the first place.

Or even my biggest question:

Why am I here?

Why did I come to Mass Effect? Why did I go to Bioshock? Why me?

What makes me so special? Why was it only me? Are there others? Out there, who are like me? People who were taken from their places of origin to another universe, another existence entirely?

Teeth didn't even explain what the Dark was very well. I mean, I sort of get it. The Dark is a crossroads of existence and a power source for the mind. And somehow the Grim Reaper and the Kraken have harnessed that power to control the Dark, and therefore control the mind. But Teeth made it seem like that was a power reserved to it. But that doesn't make any sense.

Is Teeth imaginary? A figment of my imagination? Or is it real? I mean, does Teeth exist here, in the physical realm? Or is he just a being of the Dark, of the mind?

Goddamn, this is a trip. I'm mind raping myself too much right now. I need to take my mind off of all this crap.

Ah hell. I just remembered that I showcased my plasmids like fireworks during that mission. Yeeeeaaaah… This is going to be a looooong talk…****

* * *

**A/N: The long awaited plasmid reveal is coming in the next chapter. It's an emotionally driven chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it when it comes next week.**

**See you then!**


	12. Ch 11: Therum P6- Debrief

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

**A/N: Alright, I'm going to stop doing the quotes. It's getting hard finding them, and even harder finding good ones that I haven't used. Straight to the action!**

* * *

**Ch. 11: Therum**

**Part 5- Debriefing and Cool Down**

**5:00 PM January 4, 2183**

* * *

I take a seat in the debriefing room, not next to anybody.

I rub my face in exhaustion. I just want to take my armor off and take a shower but the all clear hasn't been called yet. What the crap is the hold up?

Finally, Shepard comes in, also still in his armor. He walks over and stands in front of the FTL comm, turning around to face us.

"_All clear. Secure for Battle Stations. Set Section 4." _Joker's voice says over the intercom.

"Joker, are we out of the system?" Shepard asks looking up at the ceiling.

"_Yeah."_ Joker replies. _"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds on that planet and we'd be swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference."_

"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Liara asks, sounding baffled.

Shepard shrugs. "It's just his way of trying to ease the tension after an intense situation. Besides, he saved our asses out there. I figure he's earned the right to a few bad jokes."

"_Bad?"_ Joker says sounding flabbergasted. _"I take that as a challenge! I'll have to try harder next time!"_

"Get thinking, flight lieutenant." Shepard retorts. "And while you're at it, get back to work."

"_Aye, aye Commander."_ Joker replies.

"Hm." Liara mumbles, pondering. "I see, it must be a human thing. I don't have much experience dealing with your species Commander."

"That so?" Wrex says, looking at her pointedly.

"… Or any other species in the room for that matter." Liara adds, returning Wrex's gaze with a frown of confusion. "At any rate, I am grateful to you, all of you. You saved my life back there. And not just from that volcano. The geth would've killed me."

"More likely…" Garrus adds, sounding thoughtful. "They would have dragged you back to Saren."

"Saren?" Liara asks confused.

"Saren Arterius." Shepard explains. "He's a rogue Spectre on the run. From us. He was responsible for an attack on the human colony on Eden Prime. And your mother is involved. That's why we came to you."

"Benezia?" Liara asks in shock. "She's allied with this Saren?"

Shepard nods. "Yes. And we were hoping you knew something that could help us."

"What did Saren want with you?" Kaiden asks, trying to help lead her I the right path. "Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction." Liara explains, fidgeting in her seat. "That is my real area of expertise. I've spent the last 50 years trying to find out what happened to them."

Shepard frowns. "I have a theory on that."

Liara chuckles. "With all due respect, Commander. I've heard every theory out there. The true problem comes with finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind when they vanished."

Better throw in my 2 cents.

"Almost as if someone didn't want the truth to get out?" I add, looking at her.

"Precisely." Liara says with a nod. Yay, now I sound smart. "It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here's the incredible part: According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first civilization to vanish. Apparently this cycle started long before them."

"I thought you said there was no evidence." Tali asks confused. "How'd you come up with that?"

"I have been working on this for half a century." Liara explains. "I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patters began to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth. I can't exactly explain it. I can't point out one specific thing to prove my case. But rather, it is a feeling, derived from half a century of dedicated research."

"Then how can you be sure of this?" Wrex asks, sounding skeptical. It does sound a bit fishy, at best. "You just said you can't even prove it to someone else."

"I know I'm right." Liara retorts, confidently. "Someday, I will be able to prove it. There were civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated many times over."

"Do you know who came before the Protheans?" Garrus asks, staring at her. "Do you have any clue to who they are? Or what happened to them?

"I don't know." Liara says sounding embarrassed slightly. "There's barely any evidence on the Protheans. And even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory. But I know I am right! Every time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive."

"But what about the Mass Relays, or the Citadel?" Ashley asks. "Those are the Prothean's greatest monuments. How could there be civilizations as significant as the Protheans, or significant enough to destroy?"

"That's just it." Liara starts, excitedly. "I believe that the Prothean's greatest achievements, the Mass Relays and the Citadel are based on the technology of those that came before them."

"Maybe they weren't theirs at all." I say. "Maybe the Mass Relays and the Citadel weren't even made by the Protheans. Maybe they were made by those who came before. Or even before that, maybe. This is all just speculation and we're wasting time with this."

Even though what I just said was all true, they don't know that, and I want to look smart later. Muahahaha… the plan.

"In any case, I've dedicated my life to finding out why the Protheans disappeared." Liara says.

"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines, known as Reapers." Shepard blurts out, clubbing Liara's brain with the blunt statement.

Liara frowns in confusion. "The- The Reapers? But I've never heard of- How do you know this? What evidence do you have?"

Pfft. Archeologists. All they care about is evidence. Oh, and we're supposed to take your word and just believe you, when you say your theory is right. Now you're questioning the guy who just saved your blue freckly ass? I physically sigh. This is why I hate Liara. People have asked me why. And there are many reasons that I do not want to think about right now, lest I say them out loud.

"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime." Shepard explains. "It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to figure out what it all means."

"Yes…" Liara says sounding thoughtful. "That does make sense. The beacons were designed to transfer information directly into the mind of the user. It is remarkably rare to find one that still works. That explains why the geth attacked Eden Prime. A working beacon is worth almost any risk… But the beacons were designed to work only with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would've been jumbled, confused or unclear. I am… amazed that you were able to make sense of it all. A lesser mind would've been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed Commander."

"Okay, this isn't helping us find Saren, or the Conduit." Ashley interjects, sounding annoyed.

… Or jealous. Ugh… The love triangle in the first game was stupid.

"Of course, I'm sorry." Liara says apologetically. "My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren."

"What the crap was the point of the last 10 minutes of dialogue then?!" Wrex and I shout in perfect unison, throwing our hands up in the air in frustration at the exact same time.

We look at each other, then back at Liara. I'm sure he did that because he thinks the mission was pointless. I did that because my dislike of Liara got the better of me. I shouldn't let my ingrown bias get the better of me, but it's roots run deep and I'm having trouble overcoming my, to put it lightly, dislike of Liara.

Shepard ignores us. "I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along."

"Thank you, Commander." Liara says standing. "Saren might come after me again. And could think of no safer place than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the Protheans may be useful later."

"And her biotics could come in handy when the fighting starts." Wrex adds. "I guess this mission wasn't _entirely_ pointless."

"Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef-" Liara loses her balance for a second and stumbles a bit. "I am afraid I am feeling a bit light headed."

"When was the last time you ate?" Kaiden asks in concern. "Or slept properly? You should head back down to Dr. Chakwas."

"It is probably just mental exhaustion, but it couldn't hurt to make sure." Liara says, a little nervously. "Plus it'll give me some time to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?"

Shepard nods. "We can talk after you've seen the doctor. The rest of you… dismissed!"

"Shepard." Tali interjects before anyone stands to leave. "I think we've still got something we need to clear up."

Shepard sighs and nods. "Yeah we do. Everyone, sit back down."

I sit back down and wait for the inevitable.

"Splicer…" Shepard says, sounding almost angry. "I think you've got some explaining to do."

Everyone looks at me. Oh great, not only do I have to spill my biggest secret (Other than not being from this universe) But now I'm on the spot.

I laugh nervously and awkwardly. "Uh, well where should I start?"

"People say you're a biotic, and a tech specialist. Clearly that's not true." Kaiden starts.

"When I said I've heard about you…" Wrex starts. "I'd heard some strange things. People have said you're a demon, a monster. That you can do strange things that can't be explained. There's lots of conspiracy theories about you, human."

"That's how I heard about him." Kaiden adds, nodding at Wrex. "There's all kinds of crap about you.

"Now I get what Anderson was saying…" Ashley says in a dawning realization. "He said that you were dangerous. And that you could do odd things."

"I noticed things that seemed out of the ordinary when I first met him." Tali adds, looking at Shepard. "Like when he used his 'biotics' he didn't have an aura. A lot didn't make any sense."

"I'm completely lost, what're we talking about here?" Liara whispers to Wrex in confusion.

"And what are those syringes of blue liquid really for?" Garrus asks suspiciously. "We all know that it's not a metabolic super booster. What does it do?"

"When I first met you, I thought the fire blasts and electricity bolts were mods in your armor. Just simple Incinerate and Overload mods." Shepard says, crossing his arms and leaning against a railing, looking down. "I had my doubts about that theory. But now the cat's out of the bag and you need to be honest with us."

I sigh… Geez, this is tense. I'm really on the spot here. Where to start? "Alright well… before I get into any of this, I need you all to swear this information will not leave this room. These are secrets I've harbored for a long time, and though I want nothing more than to share them with you all, I need to be sure that you can keep them to yourselves. Agreed?"

"You can trust us, Splicer." Shepard says with a nod and a reassuring look. "You can tell us. We won't abuse your trust."

"Okay, good… Then I guess I should start with the obvious: I'm not a biotic. And I have absolutely no tech experience whatsoever. I'm completely useless with omni-tools." I take a deep breath. "And… those rumors… those 'conspiracies.' They aren't entirely false. Technically, I'm not human."

There's a heavy and palpable silence in the room.

"But I'd like to think that I am human, because that's how I was born. I can do these strange things because I was genetically modified. My genetic structure was rewritten and pieces were 'added' and others were replaced so that I can do things that others can't." I stand and activate Incinerate and Electro Bolt, holding my arms up for everyone to see. "Simply put, I have powers. I can control them, turn them on and off at will like a light switch."

I deactivate my powers and my body starts to heal as I take a seat. "The powers have drawbacks. As you can see, they're physically damaging. But with the application of other powers and upgrades to the originals, the physical damage can be lessened. I have two kinds of powers: Plasmids and Tonics. Plasmids are the ones I turn on and off. I have a large arsenal of them, ranging from fire blasts, to electricity, to ice, to telekinesis… so on, so on. Tonics are passive, they're always active. They do things like make me heal at impossible rates, or harden my skin, or even make me immune to electricity and other forms of elemental damage."

"The syringes of blue liquid are what powers my plasmids." I explain, taking one out of my pauldron to show everyone. "It's called EVE. And it is actually a metabolic super-booster. It's basically energy in liquid form. I can use these even when I feel exhausted, when I haven't even used any plasmids to give myself a boost of energy. My body naturally replenishes its supply of EVE, but it's faster and more convenient to inject it straight into my body during battle."

"My genes were modified using a drug called ADAM, which EVE is derived from. ADAM is sort of like an eraser or white-out. It erases your genetic structure. Or at least that's what it does by itself. It's very dangerous, but in the right hands, it can be modified to rewrite, rather than erase, your genes. It was first discovered in the blood of a species of sea slug on Earth." I pause for questions.

"That sounds impossible. How could it just _erase_ your genes?" Kaiden asks in bewilderment.

"It's like stem cells." I explain. "They're a blank slate. And they don't really erase your genes, so much as they replace your cells. When you introduce ADAM into your system, the ADAM acts like a cancer and invades your system. It both conforms to your DNA and modifies or even erases it at the same time. But like I said, you can modify ADAM with genetic information to give it a template with which to modify your genes with, prior to injection."

"So modifying it with genetic codes allows you to give yourself powers?" Liara asks with ample curiosity.

I nod. "Yes. It's a risky process though. Genetic codes are hard to decipher. And modifying ADAM with a specific genetic rewrite is tricky business, not to mention hard to master."

"Wait, you know how to do that?" Tali asks surprised.

"Yes, it was a point of survival. I needed to learn as much about biology, chemistry, and genetics as I could to have an edge over my enemies." I shouldn't have said that.

"What does that mean?" Ashley asks, frowning. "Enemies? Survival? Where were you when all this happened to you?"

I hesitate. "That… That I'd rather not talk about. Could we move back to just the powers please?"

"Why haven't I heard about this ADAM stuff before?" Kaiden asks. "It's not in the history books and I've never even heard of it."

"It's a well-kept secret. And the sea slugs on Earth are long extinct. But I found a new source of ADAM, that I'll keep to myself." I say, sounding, even to myself, morose and foreboding.

"Why? So can keep this power for yourself?" Wrex growls. "Why don't you give us all this power? We'd be unstoppable, invincible. Saren wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Don't be an idiot!" I shout at him, jumping to my feet in anger. "You don't understand it! You don't understand what it does to people! ADAM is not a toy! It's not a miracle, or a boon, or even a benefit to the universe! It is a monstrosity, a fucking curse! It ruined my life! I didn't want to use it, I didn't, but I had to! I knew the consequences, and I wasn't prepared to face them, but I had no other option! And I had to be the one out of place, put on the spot, the only person with even a shred of sanity left in that hell hole! And apparently that's enough to be the person everyone needs, and the person everyone hates, because it definitely seemed like that. Hell! Even now! I'm either on someone's shit list or on their buddy list! Even then I don't know if they're really my friend! You don't understand! None of you do!"

"Try to help us understand then!" Shepard shouts back at me.

My gaze snaps to him, anger boiling. "No! I can't trust you! I can't trust any of you! Why can't you just accept that I can't trust you with this information, that that's just who I am?!"

"Is it that bad?" Kaiden interjects, standing. "What did it do to you? What happened to you?"

"That doesn't matter anymore." I snap back. "What matters… is that I'm alone now. And there's nothing that can change that. And what's more important is that I won't let that change. I will _not_ let ADAM destroy my world again. You don't know what it does to people."

"What does it do to people?" Liara asks, standing too.

I rub my face. "The ADAM changes a person's genetic code. But it is in no way a subtle or gentle change. It is the opposite. It is violent, brutal and horrifying. It mutates people into horrors. The physical changes don't come immediately, you need to splice up a lot before you start to disfigure, but what ADAM does to your mind? Oh, it was horrible to watch."

"What did it do to them?" Garrus asks, standing, his tone surprisingly gentle.

"It drives people insane. Their minds can't handle the pain and the massive physical changes that come with the rewrite. And even after that, the ADAM becomes addictive. The power it brings… people can't help but hunger for it. The more you use, the more your mind is eaten away by your lust for more ADAM. The more you use, the more your body deteriorates, morphing into a grotesque abomination. The more you use, the less human you become, you become a monster, something that could barely be called human anymore. You become a Splicer." I pause and sigh. "Are we done?"

Shepard nods. "Yeah, we're done. Liara, go see Chakwas for a checkup. Splicer… go cool down. Everyone else… Dismissed!"

"_Mission reports are filed Commander. Do you want me to patch you through to the Council?"_ Joker asks.

I exit before I hear Shepard's response. That was a heavy situation. Gosh, it's hard to talk about all that stuff, but once you get me going I just can't stop. Damn, am I angst when it comes to Rapture. I feel that little speech was a bit on the theatrical side, but I tend to be dramatic when I'm put on the spot like that. I would've preferred to have done it in private, but I guess this is best, now everyone knows about the powers, what they do, and that I'm a big crybaby if you ask me about how I got them. I want some privacy, but I don't want to encroach on Liara's territory, so I'm going to move my stuff down into the Cargo Hold and set up shop there. But I don't know where I'll hang out, seeing as how there's no room down there for anything to begin with… unless…

YES!

* * *

**Later…**

I bend down to pick up the last box I'm taking down to the Cargo Hold with me in the storage room of the Med Bay when Liara enters.

"Oh!" Liara says with a start. "I'm sorry, I did not know anyone was in here."

"It's alright." I reply, straightening. "I was just leaving anyways, this room's all yours."

I walk past her, going through the Med-Bay quickly, as to avoid a conversation with either her or Chakwas. I already had to lie through my reasoning for taking all the boxes out of the storage room to Chakwas. And even if I get in trouble for doing this, it'll all be worth it.

I take the elevator down to the Cargo Hold and walk up to the little fort I made with all the crates I could find around the ship. I take the last box inside and place it on the ground to create a little seat. Alright! Got my spot right here! My exclusive club where no girls are aloud. Only goons and Garrus are allowed in my crib.

I unfold the portable cot I brought down here and place it against one of the makeshift walls. It's a little cramped in here, but at least I have a bit of privacy and I don't have to sleep in those damn sleep pods anymore. I pick up the towel I borrowed from the bathroom closet and I hang it up in the doorway. Ah, now I've got some privacy! And now… to cool down.

I lay down on the cot and stretch with a sigh… sweet.

"Knock, knock." I hear someone say outside.

"Come in." I reply, smiling at the implications of this being a little house/sanctuary for Splicer. However, I'd much like to be alone right now.

Shepard comes in, followed by Tali. Uh oh… This isn't good. I guess I could have a little mock meeting down here… in my crate fort.

"Nice little place you got here." Shepard mumbles, furrowing his brow a little.

Tali runs a gloved finger down one of the makeshift walls. "You built a fort out of crates? What're you, three?"

"Three and a half!" I snap back at her. "And what're you guys doing here. You ordered me to go cool-down."

"And you have an odd way of doing so." Shepard responds, gesturing to the crate fort around him. "But we did come down for a reason, Splicer."

"Please, save it." I respond, lying back down on the cot. "I don't need any more talks."

"Splicer, you specifically said that you couldn't trust us with certain information." Shepard says crossing his arms. "I respect your privacy, but we need you to try and trust us. We're going to be out in the field together, fighting together, and watching each other's backs. We need to be able to trust each other."

"That's not going to be a problem, Shepard." I reply, coolly. "I already do trust you guys to watch my back on the field. Just… talking is a problem for me. Well, talking about myself, that is. I can talk to anybody, about anything. But when it comes down to personal stuff, I prefer to keep it to myself. I hope you'll continue to respect my privacy. I told you guys what you needed to know. If you all want a rundown of what exactly I can do, just ask and I'll get a report on your desk."

Shepard nods. "That'd be good. I'd like to assess your tactical ability anyways. Also, one last thing, if I may… Well, it was a question that was bugging Tali more so I'll let her go ahead."

"You said that ADAM makes people… insane, disfigures them, and turns them into monsters. Why aren't you crazy or disfigured?" Tali asks, sounding nervous about the answer.

I blink and sigh deeply. "Good question. I had the same question. As you know, I was aware of the consequences ADAM brings upon using it. However, I had no other choice. I used it, ready for the pain of the immediate genetic rewrite. See, when most people use it, it changes them on the spot and it's really painful, it gives them their powers right away. But when I first used it, nothing seemed to happen. It took more than a week for me to get my power. I looked into that and I discovered that for whatever reason, I had rare genes that changed the way my body reacted to ADAM. Instead of ADAM replacing my own cells, my cells accepted the ADAM into their nuclei and allowed for the ADAM to modify my DNA."

"How is that possible?" Shepard asks frowning.

I shrug. "You're asking the wrong guy, Shepard. I don't know how that's possible, nor why I'm the only person who has it-"

"Wait, wait." Shepard interrupts. "You're the only one with this particular gene?"

I shrug. "I don't know. So far, yes. I haven't tested many other people, and it doesn't really matter, if nobody else uses ADAM anymore."

"Is it like your… personal mission or something to keep ADAM from the public?" Tali asks, sounding like she's joking.

… "Uh, yes."

Tali blinks. "Oh, whoops. Sorry."

I shrug. "No big deal. ADAM is dangerous stuff. I can't let that stuff get out again. It destroyed a single city within a few weeks, after all."

"What?" Shepard asks, frowning.

Oh right, I didn't talk about Rapture specifically did I? "I'll get to that another time. I could really use some sleep."

Shepard nods. "Alright, we'll give you some privacy, I'm needed up in the Med-Bay anyways. Apparently there was a problem in the store room."

"Was it something with Liara?" I ask frowning. "She alright?"

Shepard nods. "Yeah, but apparently she opened a crate in there and it exploded with pink slime and flooded the room."

I blink. "Uh… good luck with that."

Shepard nods and leaves.

Tali waits for a minute. "You alright?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I ask, blinking, feeling how tired I am, just from the heaviness of my eyes.

Tali sighs. "You seemed pretty angry during the debriefing."

I sigh. "Yeah, I was a bit over the top, wasn't I? But you know I was still dehydrated and uncomfortable, considering I still had my armor on. And I don't like being on the spot like that, anyways."

Tali nods. "That makes sense. Get some rest."

"Thanks, you too." She leaves and I lie back on the bed with an exhausted sigh. "Fuck…"

I'm tired…

* * *

**Later…**

"_So they _all_ know now?" _Jada asks from the monitor, some static clouding the video call.

I'm sure glad I called them. It's only been a day and I miss them already.

"Well, the team does. I don't know about the rest of the crew." I respond, crossing my legs on my bunk. "Anyways, Shepard announced earlier that we'll be heading back to the Citadel for resupply and we'll get there on the 6th."

"_Good, we're missing you back here."_ Zero says smirking.

"_And we've got a little business to discuss." _Jada says.

Zero nudges her immediately after she says that, frowning at her. _"Jada, he's got more important things to worry about than helping us with a job."_

"What's up?" I ask frowning.

"_No big deal, but we could use some help with a job we got earlier today."_ Jada says. _"I'll tell you more about it when you get here."_

"Wow, you guys are on it." I say laughing a little at the prospect of them working so hard.

Zero shrugs. _"We try."_

I nod. "Good job, guys… is anyone else there right now?"

Zero shakes his head. _"No, they're all busy right now. But I'll be sure to tell them that you're coming back in a few days."_

I nod. "Alright, thanks I want to make sure I see everyone when I get back. It wouldn't be the same without the whole gang, would it?"

Jada rolls her eyes and her eyes seem to linger above my head for a second. _"Dude, you are NOT going to last out there in the real world if you get homesick after a day."_

"Hey, that mission wore me out and I'd just like a little breather with my bros!" I retort jokingly.

Jada rolls her eyes again. _"Sure… anyways, we should get back to our stakeout."_

"_Yeah, we really should've been watching… ah crap. Alright now we really got to go." _Zero says quickly.

"Bye you guys." I say with a smile, turning off the terminal I stuck in here.

I sigh and rest my head against the wall, closing my eyes. So… sleepy.

"I remember them." I hear from directly behind me.

"EEK!" I exclaim jumping up from surprise, scrambling to the other side of the fort. I look at Tali's face in a small hole in the wall, where a crate used to be. I guess she removed it and eavesdropped. "What the hell! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry." Tali says replacing the crate and entering my fort. "I didn't know you were so jumpy."

I frown. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Not at first." She responds. "Initially I was trying to mess with you."

"Well it worked." I respond, frowning and returning to my seat on the cot. "Can I help you with something?"

"I just wanted to ask you something before lights out." Tali says, sitting on the cot next to me.

"What?" I ask, sort of annoyed, only because that this day has been one of the longest of my life and because of that, I'm kind of looking forward to lying down and ending the day with some much needed sleep. And I'm definitely sick of all these freaking talks. And geth. But I know that 99.99% of my time spent with the crew will be either in the presence of geth, or in a conversation with someone else on the crew. Honestly? Neither options are looking so pleasant right now, but I'll humor her.

"I know you don't want to tell us anything about _how_ you got your powers, specifically. But I wanted to know a couple of things about that, if that's alright." Tali looks at me, awaiting a response.

"Depends on what they are, but go ahead." I sure hope this is going to be a short conversation.

"First, why get the powers at all? You said they messed people up, and you knew that. So why'd you do it? Why'd you risk it?" She asks looking at me.

I sigh and rub my tired eyes. "Um… well, in the simplest way of putting it, I needed them. At first, I was only going to get one. The fire one. Because I needed to burn a path through some ice that stood between me and the best food source in the city. I was starving, and I needed food. I used, and I expected to get the powers instantly but nothing happened. I decided to blast the ice open with some home-made grenades but the damage they did sealed off the way behind me and flooded a whole section of the city, so I had to stay in the gardens and markets for a while before I could move on."

"So it was for nothing more than survival?" Tali asks her eyes narrowing at me.

I shrug. "That's not a good enough reason?"

Tali shrugs. "Maybe. But are you sure that it wasn't for the sake of having powers?"

Hm. "I'm not going to lie. On some level? It probably was."

Tali nods, looking off into the distance for a bit. "Alright…"

"Did you have another question?" I ask, leaning forward a bit to look her in the… face? Mask? Let's call it a mask for now, considering that I don't know what quarians look like.

Tali nods. "Yes, I wanted to know why you didn't tell me about all this in the first place. I mean, I'm not stupid, and did you think I wouldn't notice the lack of biotic auras, or carbide-magnesium residue that usually accumulates from Incinerate omni-tool mods. I'm not blind; I can tell the difference between an Overload mod, which uses ionized gases and electrostatic magnetics to create electricity and just plain lightning."

I rub my hand over my head. "I'm not trying to be rude, but why does that even matter? It is… well… _was_ a well-kept secret that only my closest friends and colleagues knew about. And if it was up to me, I'd still have this secret to myself, but you guys put me on the spot and forced me to give up that secret."

"We didn't force you…"

"No." I interrupt her, frowning at her. "You did. You all couldn't just accept that I was different. You forced me to entrust some _very_ exclusive stuff to people I've known for a day. Think about that. I get that you guys _want_ me to trust you, but I can't after a day. I taught myself not to trust anybody until they've earned it. And trust can't be forced on like that. I'm not saying that I don't trust you guys. But I haven't known most of you very long. And the one person I have had contact with in the past, hates me."

"Who, Garrus?" Tali asks, trying to change the subject. "How do you know Garrus? You guys argued yesterday, but I wasn't really sure what you were talking about."

I sigh in exhaustion. "Maybe another time? I'm really tired."

Tali nods. "Okay, I'll let you rest, we can talk tomorrow."

If the conversations tomorrow are anything like todays, I won't want to talk to her tomorrow.

* * *

**Epilogue…**

There's a sigh. _"Maybe another time? I'm really tired."_

"_Okay, I'll let you rest, we can talk tomorrow." _The second person says her voice muffled from inside the box. There are footsteps and silence for a bit.

"_Lights out." _A voice on the intercom on the ship calls.

Arachne is just about to shift her body so that she may get more comfortable when the first person, whom she knows is Splicer, starts talking again.

However, this time it is quiet mumbling she can hardly make out.

"_You… You're back. You're the one who did this to me, aren't you?" _Splicer says.

"_Maybe. But why do you think it's my fault?" _Comes a response from another person. Arachne had thought everyone was gone.

"_Who else would I think it was?" _Splicer hisses, almost angrily, but still barely above a whisper.

"_Well… You're not looking at the bigger picture. There's lots of people it could be." _The second person laughs. This person's voice, Arachne doesn't recognize at all.

"_Like who?" _Splicer asks, challenging the other person.

"What're they talking about?" Arachne mumbles, her helmet's sound canceling preventing her voice from carrying.

"_Grim Reaper? That's who you thought originally, right?" _The second voice offers.

Splicer laughs. _"You said yourself he was a fool. A nothing. Why can he control me then?"_

"_Because you're to him, what he is to me." _The second voice responds.

"_What am I to you?" _Splicer asks.

There's silence.

"_Mm… Okay."_ Splicer responds to nothing.

Arachne can't fight the urge to take a peek at who Splicer is speaking to. She opens the lid of the box only slightly and frowns at Splicer, who's humming to himself quietly and staring up at the ceiling. Her helmet doesn't detect any other life signs in the immediate area, other than the two of them.

Who was he talking to?

Arachne looks up at the ceiling and her eyes widen as she notices that even in this low light, Splicer can see his reflection.

"Mm. Teeth." Splicer says the word like a flavor, tastes it and smiles. He laughs and continues to hum to himself.

* * *

**A/N: #Cliffhanger Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry it came a day late, I was busy busy yesterday and fell asleep. Sue me.**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!**

**Oh, on that note, there may or may not be a chapter update next week. We'll see.**


	13. Ch 12: Citadel Reunion

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 12: Citadel Reunion**

**9:00 AM January 5, 2183**

* * *

"Great way to welcome you back to the Citadel, eh, Splicer?!" Zero shouts over the gunfire.

I take a second to flip him off before using Telekinesis to blow the seal off of a pipe, covering the assailants with black water sludge. Less than 20 minutes on the Citadel and I'm already trudging through three feet of shit and a billion feet of stank. That contract that Zero and Jada mentioned yesterday?

Yeah that was for the capture of a smuggling ring leader who operates… yup, you guessed it: IN THE FUCKING SEWERS!

Who the crap smuggles things through rivers of shit? That doesn't make any sort of sense!

"Oh gross!" Jada shouts in glee at the sight of bad guys covered head to toe in excrement. "They're having a bad day."

"It's about to get worse." Zero uses his biotics to create a bubble of sewage around the goons, sealing it with a biotic barrier. The sewage inside swirls a little before exploding violently, trapped inside the bubble.

Zero drops the barrier and the incapacitated henchmen slop to the ground.

We skirt them, and head to the door at the end of the tunnel.

"Sewer access." Jada reads. Thanks captain, obvious, my eyes stopped working just long enough for you to read that. "This is a dead end; he's got to be in here."

I nod. "Good, I want to leave… reeeeeally bad."

I open the door and walk in, calmly. Only to get a face full of goop. Or is this poop. Hopefully neither.

"Vision… Impaired!" I shout melodramatically, dropping to my knees. I hear a few gunshots while I wipe the crud off of my eyes, trusting in my team to do their job while I gaff off.

I see Zero bash a guy in the face with his shotgun, then restrain him with a zip tie.

"Got him." Zero says, panting a little.

Jada hoists the target over her shoulder and nods at us. "Let's go get paid."

* * *

**Later…**

"Well that was sort of pointless." I say, upon exiting the C-Sec offices.

"Hey!" Jada retorts. "We got 4,100 credits from that, what's the problem?"

I shrug. "Doesn't seem worth it. I've got shit on my armor. Fucking shit. On my goddamn armor. I'm going to need 4,100 credits worth of disinfectant, paper towels, armor shiner, and Febreeze just to get the shit off of it."

Jada looks at the credit chit in her hand. "You want me to try and get more?"

I shake my head, but she is already walking back. "Jada! Don't… Oh great. 30 minutes on the Citadel and I'm already covered in poop and am going to be arrested."

"And people thought you weren't working anymore." Zero says sarcastically.

"I'd rather not have people think I tread through sewers. If fact, I _try _not to have people think I tread through a sewer!" I say frowning at him. "It's bad for my reputation."

Jada walks back and tosses a credit chit at me. I pin it to my chest to catch it and examine the little display which shows the amount it's worth.

"You got him to give you 6,000?" I ask, disbelieving, interested, and somewhat impressed.

"In addition to the 4,100 we already got." Jada smiles and holds up the first chit.

"That's not going to go well with requisitions." Zero mumbles, offering a smirk. "Let's head back to your place Splicer. I think some of the others are waiting for you."

"Others?" I ask intrigued.

Jada nods. "Nelyna, Alex, Nata maybe Vaga. And I think Ram and Hirvio were going to stop by later."

I smile. Awesome! All in one place! "Let's go then!"

* * *

**Later…**

I walk into my apartment. What the fuck… "What'd you guys do to my apartment?"

Jada walks in behind me. "Oh. We kind of turned it into our little headquarters."

"I've been gone for like… 3 days!" I cry in protest. They frigging changed everything! My entire living room has been rearranged. There're terminals all over the place, neatly arranged around the room. The couch, armchairs and coffee table that used to surround my TV have been moved out of the way, and now the only thing between my TV and the opposite wall is a large white sheet. I guess they turned my TV into a comm or something. There are large crates sitting around the room and a few are opened, their packing material spilled out all over the ground.

Lovely.

"What is all this stuff?" I ask with a frown, walking over to one of the crates.

"Listening devices, thermal imaging stuff, EMP cannons, tracker rifles, grenades, remote explosives, guns, guns and more guns." Jada responds.

"Explosives? Grenades? You put explosives in my apartment?" I frown at her.

"Don't worry, they're safe." Zero says with a nod.

"But not exactly legal." Jada coughs.

I roll my eyes.

"Splicer?" I hear someone say before being tackled to the floor.

Gah! I'm under attack! Some secure headquarters this is! I look at my attacker who seems to be trying to squeeze me to death. Oh. "Hi Nelyna."

"I missed you!" She exclaims.

"I've been gone 3 days." I mumble.

"Really?" She sits up. "That doesn't seem right but… Oh right. My bad. Still! I missed you!"

I nod and get to my feet. "Thanks, I missed you too."

She hugs me again and smiles. "What have you done so far?"

I shrug. "Same old, same old. Shot some bad guys. Didn't really get much done in my opinion. But that comes with the job I guess… Is anyone else here?"

Nelyna points a thumb over her shoulder at the back room. "Nata's in the back with Alex trying to sort all of the new stuff Jada and Zero bought."

I frown and look at Zero and Jada. "How much did you guys buy?"

Zero shrugs.

"We've got too much money in the account so we stocked up." Jada responds. "I'm keeping careful tabs on the books, don't worry."

"Alright, Numbers." I shake my head at her. "Let's go see what the damage is."

I walk over to the back room and walk in. Jesus Christ. What, did they buy everything Tyrannax had in his stockpile? The room has got boxes all over the place! What's even in here?!

Oh! Other than my friends!

Nata and Alex both see me at the same time. They run up to me at the same time, Nata a bit faster than Alex though.

Nata hugs me tight and says some stuff I didn't really hear, but that I mmm'd and aah'd to in response. Nata steps back and Alex steps up, but she doesn't hug me she just smiles.

"You look good." She says. "How's your mission so far?"

I shrug. "So far, so good."

She nods. "Good. That's good. Found Saren yet?"

I shake my head. "No. But we're getting places."

"What're you doing back on the Citadel so soon?" Nata asks with a frown.

I smirk. "Yeah we needed a resupply… and uh… yeah we kind of blew our car up."

"Nice." Alex grins and nods.

"Yeah, get shit done. That's the Splicer way." Nata says laughingly.

I laugh a little. Well. This got awkward fast. "So you guys want to go do something?"

"Sure, what do you want to do?" Nelyna asks, sneaking up behind me.

"Well, I could really use a meal that isn't made of sawdust and bricks. And I could really go for some down time." I say sighing.

Nata nods. "Alright let's do it. How long are you here for?"

"Shepard said he doesn't know for sure, but that it's probably going to be a day or two, and that he'd let us know for sure. Most of the crew is staying on the ship, but Shepard understands that I have better things to do than sit around a cargo bay all day." I wish he found more productive things for me to do than just sit around.

"So… Where were you planning on staying?" Zero asks frowning.

"Um… Here?" I ask confused.

"Yeeeeaaah… That's not going to happen…" Zero says glancing at my bedroom door.

Oh God… I walk up to the door and open it. I sigh. "Did you guys really have to lean my bed up against the wall?"

Zero shrugs. "Lot of boxes."

"Don't sweat it, Splicer." Jada says patting my back. "You can stay with me for the time being, while we get all this stuff sorted out."

I nod at her. "Sure, thanks."

* * *

**Later…**

I walk around on the Presidium alone, looking down at the ground a bit. After lunch with my friends I decided to just walk around for a while alone. Getting alone time on a ship is hard to do, and I really need it right now.

That was good food. Far better than what they give us on the Normandy. I swear it's just blended up MRE's and they're not good. I have to drown my slop in tobasco sauce for it to taste like anything other than eyelids…

Not that I know what eyelids taste like.

Though once in Rapture I did eat some questionable meat. Not questionable as in how old it was, because it seemed fresh. But questionable as in where it came from.

I shiver. I don't really like thinking about that.

In fact, I don't really like to think about Rapture at all. But it all comes back to that, doesn't it? It always comes back to Rapture. I can't help but compare everything that happens to me now to what happened to me in Rapture.

But why wouldn't I? Rapture is what sculpted me into what I am today. Is that a good thing? I don't know. Is it a bad thing? Probably, but again, I don't know.

I wish I did though. I wish I could just sit down, tell someone about Rapture, what it turned me into, and ask them:

Am I a good person?

Did I do the right thing? Are the choices I make, the right ones? Sometimes, I don't have a decision, I don't have a choice, or I don't know which path is the right one. But that means I'm only human.

But, to me, that's just an excuse. An excuse to make mistakes, an excuse to make the wrong choices in a bad situation. I've made some bad decisions. I have regrets. I have so many regrets.

I've killed so many people. The first time I'd ever killed anyone, I beat them to death. They were trying to kill me. What choice did I have? They were insane. What else could I have done? I remember, looking back at her corpse, falling to the ground, and crying. Maybe because I was still reeling from the blow of discovering I was in Rapture, but… but it was because I'd killed someone. Sure that someone was a Splicer, but again, that's no excuse.

I hate excuses. I always do that though. I'm a hypocrite. I make an excuse and then I say that there's no excuse. I want to think that I'm no hypocrite though. I remember all of the men I've killed. I remember looking some of them in the eye, just before I pulled that trigger, or plunged my knife in their throats, or destroyed them with my powers.

I remember that even though some of them weren't human, and that I don't really have reading alien expressions down yet, that they all had the same sort of look in their eye.

Fear. And that doesn't bother me that much.

But it bothers me that it doesn't bother me.

I'm a monster. I kill without remorse, I kill without regret, and I kill without guilt. I've ended people who are sons and daughters, maybe even parents themselves. I've snuffed out so many lives.

I look back, at all the things I've done, all the memories, all of the years. I'm only in my twenties and I have billions of memories, some good and some bad. But I have them, their mine and there are so many. I have experience, skills, and memories. I've laughed, cried, and hated. I've loved and I've lost many times. I've felt happiness and joy as much as sorrow and anguish. I've fallen into dark, dark places, and I've had trouble at times pulling myself out, if at all. I've discovered things about myself. I've changed over the years. I've become a different person. I've grown stronger and I've gotten weaker. I've lived. I have lived for so long now.

And it's… simply horrible that in one second… that in less than one second all of that can end. All of the memories, all of the love, all of the hate, all of the things that I've done… they can all just be washed away. Stopped abruptly, like a lead ball on a soft rug.

It's simply horrible, simply devastating that I've done that countless times. I've snuffed the lives of others out countless times. I'm a monster. I don't know how much longer that I can do this. How much longer can I justify killing a person, snuffing out the memories, the love, the pain. How can I continue to live, and justify that?

How many more people will I have to kill?

How many will have to die by my hands before I decide that there's no point in it anymore?

I stop walking and look up at the Mass Relay monument, the Conduit. I know how many. Not exactly, to the dot, but I'll have to kill very many. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? I don't know, but what I do know, is that I have a mission.

It's to get Shepard through this thing right here, up that elevator behind me, and into the Council Chambers. To stand by his side as Saren tries to bring the Reapers back.

To fight for the good of the galaxy.

Am I a good man? If faced with an impossible decision, can I know which one is the right one?

I was wrong. It all doesn't come down to Rapture. It comes down to how it changed me. Can I prove I'm stronger than Rapture, that I can withstand its hell and come out the other side with hands as clean as they were when I entered? Can I prove that Rapture hasn't made me a monster, that I'm still human and that I am strong enough to make the right choice when the choice needs to be made?

For the sake of the galaxy, I sure as hell hope so.

Anyways…

Back to business. Other than alone time, I separated from my friends to meet with Councilor Tevos. I sit down on a bench next to an asari woman.

"I'm here to see Tevos." I say, with a sigh.

The asari nods. "Follow me."

She stands and I follow her to a taxi station, where she types some stuff into the console and a cab opens.

She gestures to it. "Please step inside."

I enter and she closes the door.

The cab takes off on its own and automatically flies itself to a large super fancy building. It lands on a private platform and the door opens on itself.

Damn this place is swanky. The landing pad is situated in the middle of a private garden, full of flowers of every color possible. I exit the cab and walk into the garden. I spot Tevos sitting at a bench in the center of a circle of planters filled with purple, blue, red, yellow and white flowers. I walk over to her. She isn't wearing her usual Councilor robes, instead it's a white dress. Damn she's pretty.

"Beautiful evening isn't it?" Tevos asks as I approach. "Have a seat."

I sit down next to her. "Your garden is gorgeous."

Tevos smiles. "Yes, thank you. It's taken many decades to grow. To business though."

I nod and hand her a datapad, with my report of Therum on it. "Everything you need is on that datapad. I joined Shepard's squad on the surface and the mission went well. We retrieved Liara T'Soni but she didn't have any information on Saren-"

Tevos nods. "Yes, yes I heard Shepard's report. I want to know what Shepard was doing. How did he perform during the mission?"

I shrug. "Fine I guess. Didn't seem to do anything based on Alliance orders over the Council's orders. I mean there wasn't anything I noticed that was wrong."

Tevos nods. "Good. Here take this."

Tevos hands me a small data chip.

I frown at it. "What is it?"

"Program it into your omni-tool. It's a long range communications upgrade that'll allow you to directly communicate with the Council from anywhere in Citadel Space. Usually it's only reserved for Spectres, but I figure it's necessary for you to have." Tevos explains staring at her flowers.

I nod. "Thank you. I'll make sure to keep in touch during the next mission."

Tevos nods. "Not just that. When we order you to do something you'll carry it out. Whether that's influencing Shepard's choices or killing a particular enemy. You will do it or your reward is forfeit. Understood?"

I nod. "Understood."

* * *

**Later…**

I walk into Tyrannax's store, glancing around for somebody. I see his quarian apprentice, Iya, standing at the front counter, reading from a datapad.

I walk up to her. "Hi."

She looks up at me but doesn't respond.

"Uh…" Usually people respond to that sort of thing… "Is Tyrannax here? I called the other day about armor repair?"

She nods and opens the counter. She waves for me to follow.

Okay… Doesn't talk much does she? She leads me through a door behind the counter into Tyrannax's large workshop. It's filled with huge machines, computers, and tons of other stuff I can't really figure out.

Tyrannax sits in front of a large square light table that projects a hologram of armor in front of him. Like Tony Stark's design table thing in Iron Man. Sweet stuff.

Iya walks over to him and even though she doesn't say anything to catch his attention, he looks up at her and nods.

"Thanks. Go back to the counter. I'm expecting a few more clients." Tyrannax commands, his voice an angry growl.

Iya walks away without a hesitation and Tyrannax stands from the table and turns to me. He's not the largest krogan I've ever seen, but he's definitely big for one. His head plate and scales are very dark green, and his skin tone is a lighter forest green and across his face, shrapnel scars make him look all the more intimidating. On one side of his face, around his eye and running over his head plate and cheek is a large burn scar that discolors his rich green skin tone to a sickly reddish brown. He also rarely wears shirts for some reason, revealing every bit of muscle he's got on his body. He's much, much more muscular than you see most krogan are nowadays. It's like the difference between someone who goes to the gym three days a week and someone like Terry Crews. It's not quite that extreme but you get my point.

… Who am I talking to? Anyway, yeah, Tyrannax is definitely not the biggest krogan I've ever see, but he's the buffest.

I nod to him and shake his hand, allowing it to be practically crushed by his steely grip.

"Splicer. My favorite client." Tyrannax says narrowing his eyes at me. "You called for an armor repair?"

I nod and present my armor case. "It's pretty fucked up. But I need it soon."

"Figured you would." Tyrannax says taking the case from me and opening it on the table. "Hm. This might take a while. Tell you what."

Tyrannax moves over to a large empty wall and hits a button in the middle of it. A panel in it slides open and reveals shelves upon shelves of armor cases. He uses his omni tool and makes the shelves rotate away, revealing more and more armor cases, which causes me to try and fathom how big the storage for this thing must be.

Tyrannax stops the rotating shelves and picks out a large black case. He hands it to me. "That's a brand new set. If you bust that one up, come back and I'll have your old set repaired and refurbished."

"Thanks Tyrannax." I say nodding, surprised he'd give me a brand new set. "What do I owe you?"

"Iya will handle that." Tyrannax says returning to his design table.

"Thanks again." I say, walking out. I walk around the counter and place the armor case on the table in front of Iya.

She stares at it and looks at me.

"How much do I owe for this?" I ask.

Iya sighs and scans it with her omni-tool. She blinks at it and shows it to me. It reads…

Nothing? "Is that right?"

She shrugs.

I frown. "Should I… Just go?"

She nods.

I frown and take the case and turn to leave. As I walk out the door, I hear Iya say.

"Bye."

* * *

**Later…**

I walk into Jada's apartment. I always liked her place, even though I didn't come here much. It's like a fancy hotel room, but a bit cozier and less foreign. The color scheme is a bit strange to me, but it's still nice. The walls, ceiling and floor are pretty much entirely white. Not blinding, but still a bit much. Jada managed to absorb the light by using mostly black furniture, keeping the furniture spread out around the room in what seems a very concise and premeditated manner.

The main room is on the corner of the building, so two walls are occupied solely by windows, filling the room with the purplish blue light from the Serpent Nebula. There's a narrow door that almost blends into the wall nearby that leads to the kitchen and next to it a hall with bedrooms on either side, with a bathroom situated at the end of it.

Jada got this place for a steal, and on short notice. I'll never really know how she does it but Jada's always been good with negotiations, especially if it involves violence, money, or both. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she got a bonus this morning for the contract.

"Jada?" I call. "You here?"

"Shower!" I hear her shout back from the bathroom.

I can see why she'd want to take a shower. I took one back at my apartment. Thankfully they didn't pack crap into my bathrooms. I'm still a little outraged that they completely took over my apartment. I know it's temporary, and I shouldn't be too outraged, seeing as how they're still getting things sorted out.

But still!

I take a seat on Jada's couch and I turn on the TV, which is built into the wall across from me. The windows automatically shade slightly, to block out the glare. That's pretty cool.

Boring…

Why is TV so boring nowadays?

I turn it off and sigh, letting my head fall back against the back of the couch. After a while I hear the bathroom door open. Better not look. I sort of dozed off there. I didn't realize I was so tired.

I hear one of the bedroom doors open and close, then after a while I hear it open again.

"Here." I hear Jada say before I feel something hard fly into my chest and I jolt in alarm. I look down at the credit chit in my lap. "Order us food."

Jada walks into the kitchen. I notice she's wearing a beater and basketball shorts. A real tom boy, isn't she?

I use my omni-tool to call a pizza place and order some food.

She comes back out after a bit, in the middle of my call.

"Psst! Hey!" She hisses snapping her fingers and pointing at my feet. "Feet off of my table!"

I take my feet off of her coffee table and I mute the call for a second. "Gulag! This is a gulag!"

"What the fuck is a gulag?" Jada frowns at me.

I roll my eyes and sigh. "Never mind."

I finish the call and look at her. She's sitting there, next to me, just staring, her brow furrowed slightly like she's thinking. I blink at her. I've never really spent time alone with Jada. And since I didn't realize that until now, it's pretty awkward.

"Uh, Jada?" I wave my hand in front of her face.

She blinks and looks at me, unfurrowing her brow. "Hm? Oh sorry, I was miles away."

I smirk. "Don't sweat it. That happens to me all the time."

"Yeah, I've noticed. It happens to you so often that I'm used to it happening on a day to day basis. Sometimes I'm curious what you're thinking about." She smirks slightly.

Goading me huh? Nope, I'm keeping my thoughts to myself. "I think about lots of stuff. And none of them are really your business."

Jada shrugs. "That's fine. Half of the times I've walked in on you 'thinking' you're doing it out loud."

I blink. Damn! Damn, damn, damn! I will never get over that inner monologue thing, will I?

Jada chuckles. "No, I don't think you will."

"GAH! FUCK!" I curse loudly.

Jada laughs heartily. "You're such an idiot! You didn't say that last thing out loud, I just assumed what you thought and answered it to mess with you!"

I glare at her. "You… You harpy bitch!"

"Harpy?" She laughs. "How does that even apply here?"

"Shut up!" I growl at her. "I don't know just shut up!"

She laughs again. "Dude, calm down and grow a pair. Why are you being so sensitive?"

"I'm not!" I retort.

She nods. "You so are."

There's a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Jada says with a sigh. She gets up and walks to the door.

Stupid Jada. Always so super clever and intuitive. Jada returns with the pizza and puts it on the coffee table.

She sits back down on the couch. "So."

I grunt in response, sort of glaring at the table.

Jada continues to stare at me though; I can feel her eyes on me. She's mean, she's uncompromising, and she thinks she's invincible. Why am I friends with someone like that?

I look at her. She smiles at me.

Then, at the same time, we dive at each other and kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little short. There wasn't much else I wanted to do with it.**

**Also, I feel like the story has been a little disappointing thus far, I'm going to try and make it a little more interesting, I'll go back and work on future chapters harder, polish them a bit, maybe start over.**

**As a result, I may have to extend posts to every 2 weeks. That's actually why I didn't post anything last week, cause I was making headway on some future chapters. Anyways, tell me what you guys think. **

**And as always, thanks for reading and I'll see you next week.**


	14. Ch 13: Regret

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 13: Regret**

**1:19 AM January 5, 2183**

* * *

I pick my shirt up, the room illuminated only by the large window that acts as one wall of the room.

"This was a mistake." I say, not looking at Jada.

"You can keep saying that all you want." Jada says from behind me, nonchalantly. "But it won't erase it from history."

I sigh. I know that. Nothing can ever change this. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well…" Jada pauses to think. "Well… The way I see it is you have three options: One, you can walk out my front door, and we won't see each other ever again; you can continue your mission, and I'll find somewhere else to go. I always have. Two, you can go to your room, go to sleep and forgot this ever happened. Or three, you can come back to bed and we can go for a round two."

I look at her.

She isn't bashful at all, the sheets completely forgotten. "The way I see it the third option still lets you pick one of the other two after."

I shake my head and smile. "Jada, I don't want to lose you. But I don't think this should happen again."

"Then it won't." Jada shrugs. "Go to bed then. Splicer, you're too mushy gushy. You're such a girl, why does everything have to evolve? Just go to bed, don't think about it. Haven't you ever had a one-night-stand before?"

I shake my head.

"… Have you ever… eh? Before?" She asks.

I nod.

"Oh, good." She sighs with relief and pulls the covers over her. "I was afraid I'd done something horrible just now. Anyways, good night Splicer."

I stand there for a moment… Renegade interrupt?

Pull that trigger.

I pull the sheets back off of her. "Round two."

* * *

**Later that Morning…**

**4:59 AM January 5, 2183**

* * *

I lie in bed, not Jada's, but my borrowed one in the guest bedroom, wide awake, my head resting in my hands as I stare at the ceiling.

At the same time, I'm not really thinking about much. I blink a few times and think about the cool chill on my face. How it reminds me that it's morning and how it reminds me that I haven't slept in 24 hours, but that I still feel wide awake.

I yawn even though I don't feel tired at all. Then my mind drifts back into emptiness and I listen to the uncomfortable silence of the room, to the tiny ticking noises of a clock that are probably more in my head.

Funny, how things happen, huh? I slept with Jada. I'm not about to deny that that was a big mistake, because I can't take my mind off of it, but that was an excellent way to get rid of some stress. But now I'm stressing out about her. I mean, what am I going to say when I see her later?

Do I just pretend that that didn't happen?

Or maybe she's right. Maybe I'm turning this into a big deal. I mean, I'm not about to deny that I do tend to over think things.

My omni-tool beeps repeatedly from the nightstand next to my bed, annoyingly. Without taking my eyes from the ceiling, I put the omni-tool on my wrist and open it.

A message from Shepard:

_Splicer_

_Time to go. Come back to the Normandy ASAP._

_LTC Shepard_

I delete the message and reassume my previous position, my head resting in my hands, with a sniff.

I'm going to try something. I'm going to get up, get dressed and get out the door before Jada wakes up.

I'm going to go to wherever it is we're headed next, then maybe come back to the Citadel. When I come back, I'm going to look her in the eye, as if what happened last night never happened.

That is if I can shake off that lingering doubt…

That doubt that I still have right now, that I'll probably have for as long as I'll know Jada.

Anyway.

I throw the sheets off myself and get out of the bed. I make the bed and grab my pile of armor from the corner of my room. I toss them on my bed and spread them out, picking up the under-armor jumpsuit.

I put it on and start putting my armor over it. Once I'm finished, I smooth the sheets out, grab my guns and walk out of the room.

"SNAKE: Activate my Sound Dampeners." I say, still walking as they activate making my steps silent.

I leave the apartment, not bothering to leave a note or anything. Jada would understand the concept of "duty calls" better than anyone I think. I shut the door quietly behind me and start walking. I find my way onto the street and decide to walk to the Normandy's docking bay at the C-Sec headquarters, which isn't too far away. Maybe a half hour's walk.

I set out, moving steadily, passing the occasional passerby. There aren't many out yet, it's not even light out yet. Just a few people here and there, probably new to the Citadel.

I remember distinctly that it wasn't hard acclimatizing to the Citadel's time frame. It was astoundingly easy actually. I don't know why, I guess it seemed a natural system to me.

I get to the elevator that'll take me to the C-Sec headquarters and I ride it as it slowly moves along.

I also remembered how easy everything seemed back then. The contracts, the fights, everything just seemed easier. Looks like the difficulty's been amped up a bit. Good.

I love challenges. Always have. That's probably why I have such an authority complex. I mean what challenge proves more difficult than one where I challenge the authority of those above me. Whenever I didn't have a challenge to conquer, I found flaws in my leaders and questioned their leadership.

Now that I'm in a position of leadership, I can't help but look back and analyze my leadership qualities. I remember that back when I was a kid I took part in a leadership course and of all of the things that I learned from that course, one seemed to make the most sense:

No leader is perfect.

They all lack something.

I walk across the C-Sec headquarters straight to the Docking Bay elevator. It moves up painfully slowly.

Me? What do I lack as a leader? I don't know what to point out, but I know I lack many things that a good leader requires.

I'm not reverent. I don't have good judgment half the time. I don't show very much respect to those who don't deserve it. I'm not tactful at times. I'm also not just at times. I can be selfish. A lot actually. My integrity has come into question countless times. And I'm not the smartest cookie in the jar.

All in all I'm not a good leader, and I'm glad I don't really see Jada and Zero as subordinates. I see them as partners. They take the lead sometimes and I follow. It doesn't matter to me, because we're all on the same level.

It's good that I'm not a leader, and that I'm not in a position of leadership. Because I don't get how Shepard pulls it off.

That guy's some kind of ox or wildebeest.

The elevator door opens finally and I start walking out. Just as I go to turn the corner onto the docking ramp to the Normandy, I ram into somebody who's running extremely fast. We run into each other hard enough to send me at least, tumbling back, dizzy and confused.

I shake my head because it hit something hard and I frown at what I ran into. Or what I didn't run into.

I'm staring into the loading ramp to the Normandy, and whatever I ran into isn't there.

Suddenly I see something spark on the ground and there's a ripple of electricity over a human shape, but there's still nothing there. Or there is and they're cloaked. The rippling occurs a few more times before a person in black armor appears. The woman is wearing a tight black suit like Miranda's in ME2 with light armor plates on her biceps, forearms, chest and back, thighs and calves. But her joints are exposed for some reason. The helmet she wears is large for her size and its got a thick black glass visor for the face part. I can't see through it though. Almost like a motorcycle helmet.

Hold on, she was headed toward me…

That means…

She came from the Normandy!

Suddenly I spot something on her belt… Oh fuck. She's got a hypo of my ADAM!

"Fuck." The woman says before drawing a pistol and pointing at me.

I throw my hand up and use Electro Bolt to zap her gun. The gun malfunctions and misfires, blowing up into pieces in her hand.

The woman yelps, but suddenly spins around on the ground, whipping my legs out from underneath me, making me fall hard onto my back. I grunt but spin on the ground and throw myself back onto all fours. I look up at the woman running toward the elevator.

I activate Winter Blast and freeze her foot to the ground. She shrieks from surprise and stops dead in her tracks. I hop up onto my feet and activate Concussive Force. Goodbye lady.

I charge a blast and blast her with a full power Concussive Force, sending her flying towards the wall like a cannon ball.

Suddenly I see something shoot out from the around the underside of the walkway and catch the woman midair. Now that they're both not moving…

Is that a tentacle holding the woman?

The tentacle lowers the woman to the ground and latches onto the railing. I see a strange mass flip onto the walkway and present itself. O...K…

The woman brushes herself off and straightens. "Thanks Kraken."

The mass straightens. It reveals itself as a huge yet oddly proportionate man. His torso is extremely long and oddly undefined, his neck is also disproportionately long, at least a foot long, and his arms are almost as long as his full height, and it's almost like he has no shoulders because his arms just sort of blend into his torso and neck oddly. His legs are strangely short for his body length and his body seems to widen at the hips. He's wearing a black suit with a white stripe down the center of his torso. There's no armor plating on his suit, except for on his "hands" where there's like a big white disk with small holes for his fingers. But oddly no fingers go through the holes and his arm widens impossibly at the wrist so it blends into the disk things. His head sits on top of his freakishly long neck, and it's covered by a featureless helmet, save for two small, perfectly circular holes for his eyes. As weird as this guy looks, the strangest things are his "feet." They're blobs of flesh. That's it.

What's with this guy? He's like… 10 feet tall. And disgusting looking.

The strange man called Kraken wheezes. "No sweat. Wouldn't want you smashed like a bug, Arachne."

Arachne? The woman nods and removes the ADAM hypo from her belt and tosses it up and down in her hand. "Could you take care of him? I need to get this to Scorpius."

Kraken nods, using his whole neck to do so. "I'll handle it."

The strangely shaped man takes a step forward, if I can call it that. It's like his leg has no bones because it sort of springs upward and gets like twice as long, then the other one like slops forward like its boneless and drags his weird form forward.

I take a step back, running ideas on how to fight this guy through my head. Then I notice the bigger deal behind him as he slops his way towards me. The woman, Arachne, walks away tossing the hypo up and down. However this fight goes down, she can't get away with that ADAM.

I use Telekinesis and snatch the hypo out of the air as it goes up and pull it into my hand. I quickly attach it to my belt and take another step away from Kraken.

"Kraken! Get the syringe!" Arachne shouts, flipping over the railing and disappearing under the walkway.

Kraken looks back at her, his neck twisting impossibly and then looks at me. He flops forward goes onto all fours, his neck physically elongating and craning up to make his head seem to float above his body. Now he moves forward with strange speed towards me. I draw my assault rifle and start firing into the mass of flesh that is his body. But suddenly, even though he's 20 feet away from me, his arm flies out and smacks my gun out of my hands.

His arm just extended! What the hell, am I fighting Mr. Fantastic or something?

It whips back and goes to knock me off the walkway, but I duck underneath it and activate Incinerate.

I snap my fingers and a burst of flame explodes on his face. He shouts in alarm and reels back, his neck shrinking like an accordion. I feel something grab my belt from behind me, and I look down at Arachne grabbing my ADAM hypo. I grab her wrist and drive my fist down on her elbow to break it.

Her arm bends down to an unfortunate angle but there's no telltale snapping sound and she doesn't scream in pain. Instead it hinges around and she kind of rolls over the railing, letting go of my hypo. Oh God! She's like the Fear from Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater! Her joints are like completely double jointed!

Gross!

She leaps at me, flipping through the air, bending her arms and legs around my body, holding my legs and arms at bay with some sort of super monkey strength. I struggle to fight her off and look up just in time to see Kraken's arm flying straight at me. I duck and bend over and Kraken punches Arachne off my back.

Ha! Schooled.

I activate Concussive Force and blast Kraken away, buying me time to deal with his double jointed accomplice. I spin around activating Electro Bolt as Arachne gets back to her feet. I blast her with a bolt of electricity, sending her flying off the walkway. Nice hopefully she's dead. I look over the edge and see her climbing cables far below with incredible agility.

Okay, guess not.

They want this ADAM so bad? I might as well destroy it. I remove it from my belt and go to smash it on the ground but something grabs my wrist.

I shout in alarm and look at my attacker. It's a huge man, all muscles. He lifts me off the ground by the wrist and holds me up in the air. He's huge; the size of Bane from the Batman cartoons, standing at least 8 feet tall, and his armor is like his comrades', a black suit with some armor plating. On him, its focused on his forearms, chest, biceps, and legs. His helmet has big glass eyes and horns on the top.

"Huh." The huge guy grunts. "Going to smash that then? What should I do with him Scorpius?"

"Just stick him with it Myrmidon." Another new guy says. "We'll take him as the sample. Better than just the syringe."

The new guy, Scorpius, is obviously the leader. Because he's the most normal looking out of all of them. His armor is focused entirely on his chest, legs and forearms. His upper arms are exposed as are his hands, and his helmet isn't even a helmet, just a protective mask that only covers the top half of his face. His mouth looks to have been surgically elongated, slips run up his cheeks from the corners of his mouth and his teeth are razor sharp. Also his skin is a sickly grey color and its oddly shiny. His fingertips have curved barbed black claws on them that blend into his fingers seamlessly and disgustingly.

The huge guy, Myrmidon, pries the hypo from my grasp and stabs it into my neck. Fuck! That's pure unaltered ADAM! If he sticks me with it…

Myrmidon presses down on the plunger and injects me with the ADAM.

Instantly something feels wrong. Myrmidon drops me and I fall to my knees, the burning in my body paralyzing me. I pant heavily and start to sweat. I look at my hands which turn stone grey. What's happening?

I feel the burning apex in my heart and I think I'm going to have a heart attack, but the heat in my heart bursts out and sends ripples of burning from the ends of my hair to the tips of my toes.

I feel…

Strong.

I get to my feet and look at my hands. I take a deep breath and I activate all my plasmids at once. Power courses through me, and fuels all my plasmids and tonics. My muscles grow to 3 times their size and I grow at least 2 feet taller, my mind processes things faster, better, making the world seem to slow down for me. My Incinerate plasmid burns hotter, Winter Blast colder, Concussive Force stronger, Electro Bolt better, Telekinesis even feels stronger somehow.

"I think that was a bad idea." Kraken mumbles.

I snap to look up at him and blast him with a cocktail of plasmids; Electro Bolt, Winter Blast and Incinerate all in one punch. He shrieks, flies back and collapses into a mound of twitching flesh with a head. Myrmidon charges me but I blast him aside with a wave of elemental force, sending him flying off the walkway.

Scorpius claws my stomach, tearing some of my armor off. I grab his throat and lift him up off the ground. He growls and claws at my arm, gouging my armor off my arm with his claws.

I roar and throw a punch into his stomach, harnessing all my power as I do. There's a deafening boom and he flies into the wall above the elevator like a cannon.

I spot Myrmidon hop over the railing, clutching his ribs a ways away from me. He looks at me for a second before grabbing Kraken's head and dragging him toward the elevator. Myrmidon grabs Scorpius's leg as it dangles from the wall and yanks him out of the wall. He tosses them both in the elevator and turns to face me.

He raises a hand to his ear and takes a step backwards into the elevator. He presses the button and the door shuts.

I raise my hand to blow up the elevator but something explodes on my back, making me stumble forward slightly. I turn around and face a gunship.

Its guns start firing, bullets hitting me and making me stumble back. I raise my hand and power Telekinesis. The bullets stop hitting me instantly and stop dead in their tracks in front of me. The gunship stops firing and I lower my arm, the floating bullets falling to the ground. I glare at the pilot.

Arachne.

I take a few steps back then start running towards the edge of the walkway. Just as I reach the end of it, I use Concussive Force to blast myself skyward, launching myself at the gunship. I land on the front of it and it bucks from my weight.

I glare at Arachne before powering Electro Bolt, making electricity jolt off of me and arc all over the gunship. Its engines overload and explode and its systems fail. I stop electrocuting it, and blast it away using Concussive Force, propelling myself back to the walkway. I watch as the gunship plummets towards the ground, thousands of feet down. I glare angrily as I notice the windshield burst open and something fly out like a bullet. It lands on a flat wall and sticks like a spider.

It disappears around a corner and after a second the gunship explodes on the ground.

I take a breath and sigh. I look down at my hands which are grey and veiny and pulsing with power.

"Holy fuck." I hear from behind me.

I turn around and face Shepard, Wrex, Garrus, Liara… pretty much everyone.

"You guys," I say my voice deep and echoic, "are so late."

"We heard a commotion but the ship was in lockdown." Shepard says walking towards me, staring up at me. "We couldn't see what was happening. What exactly did happen?"

"Intruders on the ship." I respond. "I caught one escaping. She had some of my ADAM. I don't know what she was doing with it, but she wanted it. She had backup… 3 others… they were all… strange."

"Are you alright?" Shepard asks. "You look…"

"Awesome." Ashley nods with a grin.

"Gross." Tali says with a shake of her head.

"Strong." Wrex growls approvingly.

"Good." Kaiden says sarcastically.

"Better." Garrus says just as sarcastically.

"Fascinating." Liara gapes in awe.

"Sick." Shepard says frowning.

I put a hand to my head. "Yeah. I'm feeling…"

My head starts to swim and I shut my eyes in discomfort, and I feel dizzy, like the world is spinning and the ground is moving under my feet.

When the dizziness wears off I open my eyes and I'm Shepard's height again. I look at my hand. Looks like I'm back to normal.

That was… weird. And awesome. So that's what happens when I use Pure ADAM. That whole thing was like a blur, and the power I felt was intoxicating. And there were no drawbacks to the plasmids. In fact there's no drawback of using pure ADAM that I can see. Interesting. Uh oh.

Suddenly I feel the drawback of every plasmid I used hit me all at once. A dizzying and splitting migraine rips through my head and my joints and bones feel like they're falling apart. The pain is so unbearable I black out.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Scorpius jolts awake. He sits up quickly, immediately regretting it. He gasps and clutches his ribs, pain exploding through his body.

"Scorpius!" Myrmidon shouts running to him. "Thought we'd lost you for a while there."

"What… What…" Scorpius starts before remembering what happened and growling angrily. He roars with rage and bashes the nightstand across the room. He grunts with pain and clutches at his ribs again. "Myrmidon! How did that happen?!"

Myrmidon shakes his head, unaffected by Scorpius's rage. "I don't know boss. We hit him with Compound Zero and he went nuts, transformed."

Scorpius shakes his head angrily. "How's the team? Is everyone alright?"

Myrmidon nods. "Yeah, Arachne's fine, maybe a bruise or two. I've got some burns but I'm alright. You broke four ribs and have a concussion, but Kraken's worse off than you."

Scorpius frowns and looks at Myrmidon concerned. "What happened? Where is he?"

Myrmidon helps Scorpius to his feet and brings him to the other room of their safe house. Arachne is sitting next to Kraken, who is little more than a mound of flesh right now.

"He can't reform himself." Myrmidon says sadly. "He thinks he has nerve damage."

Scorpius frowns and looks at Kraken. "Nerve damage?"

Myrmidon nods. "Whatever Splicer did to him, it's probably put him out of commission for good."

Kraken howls in anguish at that. "NO! I'm- I'm okay!"

He flops forward, his body as undefined as putty, and he quivers, and begins to reshape into a human shape. But he screams in agony after a second and goes back to a shapeless mass.

Scorpius shakes his head and looks away. "There's got to be something we can do."

Myrmidon helps him into the other room. "I talked to the boss, he said there might be a way we can help. But he doesn't want to waste resources to keep one operative-"

"Resources?!" Scorpius screams angrily. "Kraken _is_ a resource! He's one of the best operatives there are!"

"Not after this!" Myrmidon shouts back.

"We have to try!" Scorpius shouts at him angrily.

"I'm not disagreeing with you!" Myrmidon growls at him. "I'm just relaying the message!"

Scorpius sighs angrily. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm out of line… I have to talk to the boss."

Myrmidon nods. "I'll set up the call… You should uh… Maybe talk to Kraken."

Scorpius nods. "Yeah."

Scorpius walks into Kraken's room. And kneels next to him, with some difficulty. Just as he's about to speak Kraken growls and looks up at him.

"Scorpius. Before you say anything…" Kraken starts narrowing his eyes at him. "No matter how this turns out. Whether I come back from this or not, promise me…"

Kraken pauses and Scorpius waits, not averting his blood red eyes from Kraken's pitch black eyes.

"Promise me that the mission will be completed. And that along the way Splicer will die."

Scorpius puts a hand on Kraken's face, not knowing where else to put it. "I promise."

* * *

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for the long wait you guys, I needed some headway on a few future chapters.**

**Oh my! A new enemy emerges! Who are these mysterious monsters that attacked Splicer? Find out soon!**

**On a side note, I recently just finished playing both Bioshock Infinite, and Mass Effect 3: Citadel.**

**Oh my God. First the Citadel. I mean, how good was that? I was near tears. They could not have ended the series better. I am just… Speechless.**

**As for Bioshock Infinite… People are calling it the Perfect Game. I can't say that I disagree, but I don't completely agree either. I mean, it's really good. I think it could've been longer. I think something they could've done that would have been cool would be that the game can take like 3 different paths based on your choices and I can pinpoint where that would happen. But… Can't complain I guess.**

**But in all, I did very much enjoy it, as much of a mind fuck as it was.**

**On another side note, I also got the new Tomb Raider and Dead Space 3. Both are just excellent.**

**Alright, I'll stop nerding it up now. Hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see you all next week!**

**Mockingbird79**


	15. Ch 14: The Calm

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 14: The Calm**

**12:43 PM January 5, 2183**

* * *

_Darkness._

_And the Grim Reaper appears, its arm stretching out for me. _

"_I will have words with you." The Grim Reaper says, its voice making my head feel like its splitting in half. "It's time for you to see what we fight for."_

_I stumble back, pressing my back against an invisible wall. The Grim Reaper closes its hand around my body, pinning my arms to my sides in an iron grip._

_The world rushes past us and it gets engulfed in flames._

"_Imagine, this." The Grim Reaper sweeps an arm over the flames, which I see now is a city; Buildings, streets, and people burn in the flames. "Imagine, an existence of chaos, of unrest. Of never ending war. I was born to use what resources we have to bring order to the chaos. To snuff out the flames of war. I keep the peace, make sure the galaxy isn't destroyed due to indecision, by ignorance."_

_I try to break free of the monster's grip. "You call yourself a hero then? You're nothing! YOU'RE NOTHING!"_

_The Grim Reaper brings me to its face. I look it dead in the eye and see the flames of war and chaos deep within._

I jolt awake, with a shout of alarm in the Med Bay of the Normandy. I press my hand to my forehead trying to stifle the pounding headache. It feels very hot, but I don't feel very sick. Funny, I've gotten sick more times in the last year that I did in Rapture. I guess part of that reason is that I have the Super Immunity tonic which makes me resilient to pretty much all disease. Though maybe that's more specific to Earth diseases now.

"Splicer." Chakwas says, sliding across the floor on her chair towards my bed. "Are you alright?"

I nod. "Yeah, a little feverish I guess. Could I have some water?"

Chakwas nods and gets up. "Of course, I'll go get you some. Just lie down and rest."

I wait until she leaves before lying down, my back resting against the wall. Looks like my armor's been replaced with some dark blue Alliance military fatigue trousers.

I look down at myself. Damn, I wouldn't be a good cover model for anything, I'm all scarred up! Looking good though.

Chakwas returns with a cup of water and hands it to me. I drink it slowly, fighting the urge to chug it.

"What happened doc?" I ask between sips.

Chakwas shakes her head. "I don't know for sure. You fought those intruders and they injected you with that… stuff you have. I guess it had some pretty serious side effect because it put you into… well, I guess it doesn't qualify now, but it appeared to be a coma.

"A coma?" I choke on the water and look at her. "I was in a coma?"

"Well, I guess not, seeing as how it's only been a few hours, but it definitely wasn't a normal sleep, considering your brain activity." Chakwas turns on a monitor showing a scan of a brain. "That's your brain right there. I did an MRI to see if you really were in a coma. Hang on." She types some stuff in on her omni-tool and a second image appears, looking pretty similar, except for some reason the new brain is like, composed different. Is that an alien brain?

"First off," Chakwas starts pointing to the new brain on the left. "This is a normal human brain in a comatose state. Notice the low levels of activity, basically the red areas. Notice how this brain is basically nonfunctioning, but still functioning as indicated in these places. Now I want to point out that your brain, for whatever reason is… put together differently. I don't know why. Don't want to frankly. And it seems to me that it isn't having any sort of effect. But notice how your brain is compared to the one on the left?"

I frown. "Mine has a lot more activity."

"Exactly. But all the symptoms are there. Almost no activity in the areas of the brain that register stimuli of any kind and in the areas that wake your brain up from sleep states. But your brain is going haywire. And your rapid eye movement was intense, were you dreaming something?" Chakwas asks, turning off the monitor.

I frown. "I think so. I can't remember."

That's a lie. I remember those dreams perfectly.

"Hm. Anyway, Shepard told me to inform him if you woke up. But if you're feeling up to it, why don't you do it yourself? You seem well enough to leave to me." Chakwas shrugs and returns to her terminal.

Suddenly the door to the backroom opens and Liara pokes her head out. "Oh! Splicer, you're awake."

I nod. "Hi Liara. How're you?"

She nods. "I'm fine, thank you. How're you feeling? You passed out shortly after those intruders escaped and we were all worried."

I shrug. "I'm feeling alright, a little feverish but alright. Did you guys find anything out about those intruders?"

Liara shakes her head. "No, we filed a report with C-Sec and left. We're on our way to Feros right now."

I nod. "To investigate the geth reports?"

Liara nods. "Yes, Shepard will probably want to know you're alright."

I nod again. "Yeah I was just about to do that. I should be going, anyways. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, bye." Liara closes the door to the supply room and I step out of the med bay into the common area.

I spot Ashley eating alone with her back to me at the mess table.

I walk up to her. "Hey Ashley."

She looks up at me and puts her fork down. "Splicer, you're up. I was worried that I'd have to carry you everywhere after that little stunt you pulled."

"Carry me?" I frown. "Stunt? I was attacked."

Ashley shrugs. "You could've resisted getting pumped full of that green goop."

"That big guy was strong." I protest. "Like really strong."

She shrugs. "Suuuuure."

"Alright whatever Williams, I'm off to talk to Shepard." I say about to walk away.

She stops me though. "Alright, alright, I'm just teasing. Really though, how are you?"

I shrug. "Fine I guess. A little wobbly on my feet but I'll be fine in a few hours. Why?"

Ashley shrugs. "I was going to ask, would you be interested in a little exercise later? I like to stay fit but I like to have a buddy when I workout and you look like you like to stay in good shape."

"Why not ask, Kaiden? Or one of the other crewmen?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs. "No one can keep up."

Challenge accepted. "Alright, sure. I'm free anytime."

Ashley nods. "Great meet me down in the Cargo Hold later and we can get started."

"Sounds good, I should be going." I say walking away again towards Shepard's cabin. Kaiden isn't in his usual spot. It feels strange not to see them around in their normal spots. But I guess they can't spend eternity doing the same task endlessly like they do in the games. This is real life. I smile. That's weird. They're people. I laugh a little to myself. Yeah I did that back when I met Tenenbaum.

I enter Shepard's cabin. Wow, this really is real life. Shepard is sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the desk, smoking a cigar. There's a small empty glass on the desk and a bottle of dark rum next to it. Wow, real life is ugly. Never thought I'd see Shepard succumbing to vices.

Actually… Flashback to Mass Effect 2. In my hands, he drank like a 60's muscle car with a V8 drinks gas. That is to say, he drank a lot.

I knock on the door frame. "Hey Shepard, can I come in?"

He looks at me and nods. "Come on in."

I walk in and make sure the door closes behind me. "I didn't know you smoked."

He shrugs. "Not all the time. Not even often. Maybe once or twice a year. Anyway." He places the cigar in an ashtray and stands shaking my hand firmly. "It's good to see you on your feet. How're you feeling?"

I nod. "Good. Better."

Shepard nods. "That's good. I'm glad to hear that. Would you like a drink?"

I hesitate. "I don't know. I really shouldn't."

"You sure?" Shepard takes a second glass out of the desk. "This rum is aged 30 years."

Well… "Sure. What the hell?"

He smiles and pours me a glass and tops his off. "Take a seat." I sit down in his chair which he offers to me while he sits on his bed, moving his glass and ashtray to his nightstand.

I take a small sip of the rum. I let it sit in my mouth for a second before swallowing, letting it roll down my throat like a stream of lava. It burns bad enough to make me cough a little.

It's embarrassing so I hold up a hand. "Sorry. I've been away from the hard stuff for a while."

Shepard shrugs. "Don't sweat it. And I do that same thing every time I decide to have a drink. I don't drink often, so I get that from time to time."

Ah, so he doesn't drink like a camel, like I made him do.

"Any reason why you're doing it again now?" I ask curiously, taking a second sip of the rum. It burns still but I manage to not cough. I like the taste, super sweet. It tastes like… rum. But if I had to give it a noun to associate to I'd say it tastes like a party.

Shepard sighs and nods, swirling the rum in his glass and watching it. "Yeah. There is. Actually I wanted to talk to you about that."

Me? Really? Hm. "Sure."

Shepard looks up at me. "So, back on Therum, I don't know if you know this but I… Passed out during the mission."

"Really?" I ask shocked. "I didn't know that, actually."

Shepard nods. "Right, well… I talked to Tali, Garrus and Liara about the ruins, and about the mission."

"What'd you ask them?" I ask, leading the conversation where I figure he wants it lead.

Shepard sighs. "That's the thing. I asked them each the same questions. Was it hot down there and did they here a screeching noise?"

I frown. "What did they say?"

"'Yes' and 'no' to both questions respectively. That was the consensus." Shepard sighs. "Thing is though, I _know_ it was freezing and I _know_ I could hear a screeching noise up until I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I didn't notice it at the time, but it was hot as an oven in there, and the screeching noise was gone. I wanted to talk to you about this because… well you pointed it out."

I nod slowly. "Yeah… that was bothering me too… It was freezing in there. And I could hear the screeching noise. I mean, up until I fell down that elevator shaft. And when I woke up, I guess I just didn't notice it at the time, but you're right. Now that I think about it, it was hot and the noise was gone."

We're silent for a moment.

"That's weird." Shepard mumbles, taking a drag from the cigar.

I nod slowly and take another drink from the glass, then downing the rest of it. "Yeah…"

"I have a question." Shepard clears his throat and takes another sip of his rum. "When you were unconscious, did you have any dreams?"

I look at him. "Maybe…"

"I did." Shepard says narrowing his eyes and staring off into space. "I dreamt of nothing. I mean I dreamt of a place of nothingness. It was so quiet that I can remember the silence. So black that I can remember the darkness. So frightening that I can remember how terrifying it was…"

I blink at him. Is he dreaming of the Dark? "Was that it? Nothing happened? Just darkness?"

Shepard nods. "Yeah. That was it."

"Hm." I grunt. "No… I didn't dream anything like that."

Shepard looks at me. "Nothing at all?"

I shake my head. "Nothing."

Shepard sighs sounding disappointed. "Alright, well. I shouldn't keep you any longer. I'm pretty sure Tali and Wrex were eager to talk to you after that 'incident' earlier today."

I nod and stand. "I'll talk to you later Shepard."

I place the glass on his desk and start to leave. As I walk out the door, Shepard calls to me. "Hey."

I turn around to face him.

He takes a drag from the cigar and lifts the glass. "Thanks for having a drink with me."

I nod. "Anytime."

I leave and close the door and head over to the elevator. I take it down to the Cargo Bay and spot Wrex in his usual spot, next to my Fort.

"Hey, Splicer." He says upon seeing me. Wrex? Talking to _me _first? That's a good sign.

I walk up to him. "Yeah, Wrex?"

He laughs and punches my shoulder. "You've got some interesting tricks, kid. You got some tricks up your sleeve and that definitely makes you more interesting. I've spent centuries fighting warriors and fighting with warriors who have used countless different styles to kill their enemies. Biotics, tech powers, combat skills, all unique in some way. But you… You're something special."

"Oh?" I ask with a grin, rubbing my shoulder.

Wrex nods and punches my shoulder again. "Yes! You can mutate yourself into a flaming, freezing, electrocuting, exploding, psychic doom walker! You're interesting Splicer, I'll give you that."

"That's more than I expected honestly." I say back sarcastically, rubbing my shoulder, wincing.

Wrex grunts with a short laugh. "Ballsy sense of humor you got there, Splicer. That'll get you killed one of these days."

"Good to know." I reply. "Anyway, have you seen Tali around anywhere?"

He nods. "Saw her sneak into your little dwelling there."

What? I need to put a 'No Girls Allowed' sign out front. I glance at my Fort. "Thanks. And it's a Fort, not a dwelling."

"Call it what you want. To me it's a dwelling... because you sleep in it." Wrex shrugs.

"Right… well I should be going." I say walking over to my Fort and stepping inside.

I spot Tali sitting on my bunk, doing something on her omni-tool.

"Hey." I say getting her attention. "What're you doing in here?"

"Shepard had me bring your gear down here after you were taken to the Med-Bay. Speaking of which, that's a cool trick you did earlier." She says pleasantly. "Why don't you do that more often?"

"What? The turn into a giant grey monster thing?" I ask sarcastically, sitting down next to her on the cot. "Yeah, see I didn't know that I could do that. And honestly it's not so pleasant afterwards so I don't plan on doing it again."

Tali harrumphs. "Hm. Maybe you should consider keeping it as a backup? You know, in case things turn bad and you've got no other options."

Hm… That's not a bad idea actually. I shrug. "Sure I guess that wouldn't be a bad idea."

Tali nods. "Good… So I had a few questions for you about your powers."

"Like?" I sigh as I say that.

"Well… I mean there are the obvious ones, the fire, the ice, the electricity… But you also mentioned that there are passive ones right?" Tali asks, turning to me. "Well what do those do?"

Alright, valid question. I nod. "Well, I have quite a few of them. I have one called Sports Boost that increases my muscle density, elasticity, and acceleration. In other words it makes me stronger, faster, and more adequate. It's how I maintain this incredible physique without constant exercise, and how I can beat out most normal enemies in close combat. Brain Boost does the same Sports Boost does for my body, but for my brain. It unlocks a bit more of my brain for me to use, increasing my memory capacity, comprehension and other brain… stuff. Um I have one called Armored Shell that makes my skin harder. You can't tell through the suit probably but my skin is much firmer and tighter feeling than a normal humans. I mean if you tried to pinch me you wouldn't be able to."

Tali follows through and tries to pinch my arm. But her gloved fingers just slide over my arm. Hm. And I thought the suit would feel rubbery. Never thought about that I guess. "Huh. You're right. That's weird. What else can you do?"

"I can heal far faster than a normal human with Fast Healing. I'm able to jump higher than a normal human thanks to Springheel… Um… Oh! You'll probably think this is strange but… Well thanks to a tonic called Clean Freak, I sweat and salivate cleaning agents, so I never need to bathe or brush my teeth. But I do so anyways to stay clean smelling and minty fresh. I got one right after that called Nutrition Snob that actually reduces the amount of food, water and sleep that I can function on. In other words its harder to starve me to death or dehydrate me. Cool stuff right?" I laugh a little. "Um… What else? Iron Lung, Super Immunity, Milk Bones, Marathon Man… Um… I think that's it."

"Wait, wait, wait." Tali says laughing. "Go back, what do those last four do?"

I sigh and roll my eyes sarcastically. "Iron Lung makes organic filters for my lungs that allow me to breath poisonous gasses and not die immediately. Super Immunity boosts my immune system so that I can't get sick easily. Milk Bones-"

"Why'd you get Super Immunity?" Tali asks, interrupting me.

"Hm?" I ask frowning. "Oh, I got pneumonia once and almost died so I got that to keep me alive longer. Anyways, so Milk Bones makes my bones denser and Marathon Man increases my lung capacity and makes my heart stronger so I can run and do active things for longer."

Tali nods slowly. "Those all sound super useful. Alright, got to go!"

Tali stands quickly and exits my Fort in a flash. Well… That was strange. She was waiting for me in here, even though she knew I was in a coma, sure it was only temporary, but she didn't know that. And she ran out of here faster than a bat out of hell. Maybe she wasn't waiting for me at all…

I stand and look around my Fort. Nothing seems missing… though she was using her omni-tool when I came in…

In a sudden realization I yank my ADAM case out from under my bed and find it open, with one syringe missing. Oh no. Me and my big mouth! Why did I have to mention Super Immunity?! That's like… That's like shoving ADAM in her face as the Pilgrimage gift of choice!

Fuck!

I run out of my Fort and look around frantically, trying to find Tali somewhere. "Wrex did you see where Tali went?"

He nods. "Yeah, Little Pyjak took the elevator up, moving faster than a pyjak does when it catches whiff of some food, hence the name. I'm going to start calling her that. See how she reacts, you know?"

"Sure, whatever." I run to the elevator and ride it up, bouncing around on my feet in worry. Oh crap if she's trying to take that stuff I'm in a mess of shit! She's been showing so much interest in ADAM recently, I should've seen it coming!

The elevator opens and I rush out. I run out into the Common Area and spot Tali near the sleep pods with her back to me. Oh God she's about to inject herself!

I sprint towards her and once I'm close enough I leap into the air and tackle her to the floor shouting, "NOOOOOOO!"

I get to my feet quickly and she rolls onto her back.

"Ugh!" Tali grunts coughing holding her arm. "Keelah, Splicer, why did you do that?"

"Tali! Don't take that!" I shout quickly.

"Don't take what?" Tali asks confused. I spot a small container of quarian food paste on the ground next to her.

Uh… I open my omni-tool and scan for ADAM on her and the food. Nothing…

"Uh… The food! The food, it uh… Hasn't been properly refrigerated, yeah! It could be baaad! Don't eat it!" I shout, bull-crapping something quickly.

Tali stares at me confused. "I found it in the refrigerator… It's fine… Is this a joke?"

"Uh no… Sorry. I'll go." I mumble helping her up then walking away.

"It's alright. Just don't feel like this lets you tackle me to the floor whenever you think I'm in slight danger." She says sarcastically as I walk away. "And this doesn't count on our scoreboard!"

Scoreboard? Oh yeah, the 'Who can save whose ass more times?' thing. "Whatever, I'm still winning anyways."

I shake my head as I walk away laughing. Stupid kid. Like she's going to save my ass more times than I will hers. Yeah right. What's she going to do? Use her drone to keep me from falling over a cliff?

Sure. Whatever kid.

I head down to the Cargo Hold and over to Ashley.

"Hey, Ashley." I say approaching her. "I'm ready for a little PT."

She nods and grins. "Great. Let me just clock out and get changed. You look ready to go still."

Oh. I'm still shirtless. What the fuck, it's freezing and I just notice this now? God dammit. Well… I'm not going to be doing PT very well in these uncomfortable pants. Better change. "I'll meet you back out here in 5."

I run over to my fort and start changing. I switch to a pair of shorts and a compression shirt. I come back out and find Ashley waiting for me, wearing loose fitting shorts and a t-shirt, military issue by the looks of it.

I walk over to her. "Alright, so what're we doing?"

Ashley smirks. "Well, I figured we could do a little sparring."

I shrug. "I'm game. I should warn you that I'm no slouch in the ring."

Ashley chuckles. "Alright whatever." She hands me some boxing tape and starts setting up some mats for padding on the floor. "Do you know how to fight?"

I shrug while wrapping my hands in the tape. "I dabble."

Ashley raises her fits and hops up and down to get her blood pumping a little. "Ready?"

I nod. "Always. Let's go."

"Fight!" Garrus shouts from the sidelines, watching intently and leaning against the front of the Mako.

Ashley and I move forward at each other at the same time, gaining ground but both of us not making the first move. We get close enough and I throw a jab to test her guard. She's quick. Brushed my punch aside like it was a fly. She was blocking a 2% punch but still. She's got a good guard. Let's see how her footwork is.

I swerve and sway around her side, throwing a blow to her ribs. She spins towards me and blocks the blow with her elbow, hopping back and away from me. I jolt forward to deliver another jab to her guard, but she ducks fast and sweeps my legs out from under me with a kick.

Damn! I thought we were boxing! Going full on kick boxing then eh? Alright Williams, well played. As soon as I make contact with the ground, I plant my feet and push myself back upright with my arm, bring the other up to block a solid kick from Ashley. I hop back to gain some space but she pursues, trying to take advantage of my lowered guard.

She throws a powerful combo of a cross followed by a body shot aimed at my solar plexus. I block both strikes and throw my arms out, using my forearms to throw her arms out of the way, opening her guard. Too easy.

I deliver a quick yet solid blow to her abdomen, but I know my enemy. I know that she's not the type of fighter who's going to be fazed by a single blow to the abdomen. My punch knocks the wind out of her but forces her back a step, but I pursue. I follow up by throwing another body shot with the same hand, aimed higher this time to her solar plexus. The punch lands and lands hard as she wraps her arms around my torso, holding me in a clinch. I feel her post her leg back, rearing to knee me in the ribcage.

Ashley drives her knee upward with incredible force that I manage to block with my hands. I block a second knee attack to the mid-section, then throw my arms apart, using my superior strength to get out the clinch. I quickly throw an uppercut and it lands home on her jaw making her stumble back.

I move forward for the "kill" but she uses the momentum of her fall and roundhouse kicks me in the face. I spin and fall, feeling dazed, my vision blurry. Damn that was a solid kick. My ears, ringing, I manage to get myself up onto my two feet again, albeit somewhat shakily. Goddamn I can't see. I shake my head to try and clear my vision and as it clears I come face to face with Ashley's fist flying at my nose.

Instinctually I lean back and duck away from the blow, missing it by inches, letting it glance against my forehead. I knock her arm aside and throw a quick one-two combo to her ribs. She stumbles back, but leaps forward, thrusting her leg out at my hip. It connects and throws me off balance. But as I fall, I grab Ashley's arm and carry her with me. I roll onto my back and drive my foot into her stomach as I fall, sending her flying over to the other side of the ring. I get to my feet quickly again.

This fight is getting out of hand. We're both the kind of people who don't want to lose. I don't want to throw the fight just for the sake of not fighting anymore. On the other hand I don't want to hurt Ashley too badly. Let's just see how this goes.

I allow her to recover before going at her again, faking a right hook and swaying into a left uppercut. Ashley dodges the upper cut and throws a punch directed at my ear. I throw up my arm and block retaliating by jabbing her swiftly in the face to disorient her.

The punch is enough to daze her momentarily I throw a powerful right hook to finish the fight but she ducks underneath it and drives her knee into my stomach. I lurch and double over. She goes to knee my face again but I block it with my hands and drive my fist into her solar plexus as hard as I can. She doubles back too clutching her stomach.

I drop to a knee holding mine.

She coughs. "Tie?"

I nod. "Sure."

"Mediocre fight you guys." Garrus says as a compliment. "Good to kill a few minutes."

I flip him off and hobble into my fort. Damn, I need to step up my game. My fight with the super mutants and with Ashley has made me realize that my hand to hand skills aren't a match to people anymore. I'm fighting genetically augmented humans and super strong aliens. I need something that'll give me an edge in a fight. Maybe a muscle hardening tonic or a lactic acid reducer will do it. I'll throw something together.

I take my case of ADAM out from under my bunk and realize again that I have one missing…

I look under my cot. Oh. I guess it fell out. My bad. I take it and begin the reduction process. While that works I set about breaking down the enzyme solution.

"Hey." I hear Tali say, poking her head into my fort.

I jump, startled. "Jesus! Come on now! I really need to put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign out there."

"Sorry. What're you doing?" She asks.

"Cooking something up." I respond frowning as I begin to focus thoroughly on my work. "Please don't distract me. If I don't get this right I could kill myself."

"Ok, but do you mind if I watch?" She asks.

I just shrug in response, too focused on synthesizing a blank genome to respond. I notice she moves behind me and sits on my cot, bringing her legs up onto it so she doesn't get in my way.

For the next few hours or so I work thoroughly and meticulously, working on making something new for myself.

Finally the process is completed there's only the issue of adding a template and catalyst agent. I know I need muscle tissue for the catalyst, but it can't be tampered with and it has to be human. As for the template, I need to know what specifically I want it to do. Like down to the letter because when I made Concussive Force by accident, I was trying to make a plasmid that let me communicate with animals. I have _no_ idea how that happened. So I need to find a template that is associated with what exactly I want my plasmid to do.

Well, let's make it give me more endurance and reduce lactic acid levels overall. In addition I'll have it increase my muscle density and acceleration so that I can be stronger. That shouldn't be too difficult.

I take a small needle full of bio-gel and remove a small sample of my muscle tissue. I don't know how this will react with the mixture because I have a modified muscle structure, but we'll see how it goes I guess. I add the catalyst and build the template using the ADAM I reduced.

I take the mixture into a hypo and give it a good shake to make sure it's mixed well. Alright… bottoms up.

I inject myself with it and feel the warm ADAM flow into my body. I open and close my fist to assist blood flow. And now it's simply a waiting game.

I clean all of my equipment up and sigh with exhaustion. I need sleep. Dammit.

I look at Tali, who's passed out on my cot, and I sigh in annoyance. Fuck, where am I going to sleep now?

I sigh and walk out of my fort, taking a blanket and pillow with me. It's long passed lights out. Everyone's asleep by now. Wrex is sitting against the wall, his head bowed. He looks more like he's meditating than sleeping. I eye the Mako… well. It's better than nowhere.

I walk over to it and open it and crawl inside. I close it up and sit on the floor for a second. It's so quiet in here.

Are you there?

My vision turns black.

_Always._

What's happening to me?

_It laughs. Something so beautiful. I'm so…_

_Proud._

I smile and stare at my reflection in the Mako's window.

It's been a while since I heard something like that.

I lay the blanket down and rest my head on the pillow. Don't visit me tonight. I'd like to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we're hitting Feros.

_Are you ready?_

…

I turn over and I face the ceiling. The ceiling of the Mako shows me a blurry reflection. I frown at it, contort my face, watch it wave and turn into something that I don't really recognize.

…

I'm always ready.

* * *

**A/N: Alright so, this chapter I wasn't totally satisfied with, but I wrote myself into a corner and I really couldn't change anything. Sorry if it's a little dull, the next chapter is quite interesting.**

**So with that, I'll see you next week.**

**Auf Wiedersehen.**


	16. Ch 15: Feros P1- Briefing

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 15: Priority Feros**

**Part 1- Briefing**

**4:19 AM January 6, 2183**

* * *

I wake up warm in a cold dark room. Not room… Right, I'm in the Mako. I forgot about that. I sit up with a grimace of discomfort. I run a hand along my back and I trace the lines that the bumpy floor of the Mako imprinted into my back.

I sigh and rub my eyes with exhaustion. It's early. But I can't get to sleep now.

I start a process of popping the bones in my body, starting from my neck and working my way all the way down to my toes. I flex my body, stretch and try to wake myself up.

I look up at my reflection in the windshield. I'm tired looking. My hair is a long, unkempt mess. It's been a long time since I had a haircut, and it's been a long time since it was a Mohawk. Now it's a mop of dark locks that reach down to my cheeks all over my head. A few are singed short from Therum. I don't know why I've waited so long to get a haircut.

I'll need a haircut, next time I'm on the Citadel. I rub my hand along my jaw and chin. I could use a shave too.

Nowadays, I care a lot less about how I look. Who am I trying to impress?

Alex?

I scoff and shake my head, then look back at my reflection, my smile fading quickly.

Hm. Maybe. I scoff again and rub my warm forehead with my hand.

Dumbass… Listen to yourself, Rob… I laugh a little bit. You're thinking about Alex again.

Well that's only because I still have feelings for her. I laugh loudly.

God! Of course you do! I shake my head, smiling like an idiot at my stupidity. How did I put it? "I love challenges?"

I sigh, rubbing my face. I push my hair out of my face and open the door to the Mako. I hop out, dragging my things out with me. I walk over and toss them through the doorway of my Fort, not really caring where they land.

I trudge over slowly to my locker, rubbing my head for whatever reason along the way. I think it's because it's just an early morning reaction. Rub things.

I chuckle. That sounded kind of gross.

I open my locker and take out a shirt, military issue and some random pants and shoes. I pull them on and frown down at myself. You couldn't look more single than right now. Unshaven and dirty, with no regard to how you dress.

I sigh and shake my head.

What have you become Rob?

I close my locker and turn around, walking over to the elevator. I really wish they'd put some stairs or something somewhere. I hate taking the elevator all of the time.

I enter it and ride it up, leaning against the wall as it goes.

I'm learning to really hate space travel.

First, it's cold, all of the damn time. Second the food is complete sewage. I swear I don't know how I haven't gone insane yet. I need my food! Third and possibly the worst of all is that it's boring.

IT'S SO FREAKING BORING!

I need to be doing something! I can only sleep, eat and exercise so much in a day and I exhaust all three of those options before breakfast half the time. And that doesn't even make any sense!

I sigh again. I can't get it out of my head. I'm still in love with Alex.

Why?

I protect her from all the dangers the galaxy throws at her and she dumps me. I confess that I still have feelings for her and she turns me down. You'd think that I'd hate her or something. But I still care about her. Why?

The elevator comes to a slow halt and opens for me. I walk out slowly.

I _should _hate her! But I don't!

Why don't I hate her?

I sigh angrily. Stop thinking about this Rob. You're only confusing yourself, only making it difficult for yourself.

I sigh angrily again. Fuck. Fucking fuck!

I pound the wall with my fist and continue walking upstairs to the CIC. Why am I going up here?

When I get to the CIC, it's dark, nearly pitch black. The only light is coming from the many consoles. They call it lights out for a reason I suppose.

I walk forward to the walkway leading down to the airlock and to Joker's chair. I hear a low quiet noise, sort of like a harsh breathy sigh from behind me.

I turn around and come face to face with a monster. It's human in shape, but it is definitely not human.

Its face is gaunt and lifeless. Its head is completely devoid of hair of any kind. Its sickly greenish grey skin is pulled tight around its bony yet disturbingly toned body. The thing both smells and looks like a corpse, with gaping holes and grayish blue veins covering its flesh. It stares at me with empty eyeholes. It opens its lipless mouth and makes the wheezy gasping noise again.

I stand paralyzed gaping at the creature, breathing in its sour stench. It raises its hand and reaches for my face with talon like fingers. Its mouth gapes open wider and it shrieks.

At that I'm snapped back into my senses. I jump back and hit it with a Concussive Force at the same time. It gets disintegrated instantly but right as I land, I bump into something behind me. I spin around and come face to face with another creature.

It shrieks and reaches for me. I shout in alarm and fall to the ground, scrambling away from it, blasting it with Concussive Force as well. Three more come out of the darkness. I blast them with the plasmid, destroying them.

I get to my feet quickly and spin around again as I hear more of the noises. Dozens of the creatures trudge toward me slowly out of the darkness. I gasp and back away from them.

I activate Incinerate and start setting the creatures ablaze. The light from the flames reveals even more of them. There's too many to fight, and as they get closer I find myself backing toward the cockpit further. I blast them away with Concussive Force as much as I can, but they keep coming and at some point, somehow, my plasmids don't affect them anymore.

One slashes my chest with its talon like claws and I gasp in pain, falling back against the console.

I kick and punch at the creatures but they keep coming, clawing and shrieking at me.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I scream, kicking, shooting Concussive Force, Incinerate, whatever I can at them.

My kicks are useless. It's like hitting steel. Concussive Force hits them like a breeze, they don't even budge. The flames from Incinerate just waft off their flesh like they're made of stone.

As I am just about to be overwhelmed, I feel another grab my shoulder from behind. Impossible! I'm backed up to the wall.

I spin around, bat the arm away but come face to face with Shepard, facing the same direction I was before I spun around, in a different spot than I was before.

What?

"Splicer. Are you alright?" Shepard asks, backing a step. "Why are you up so early?"

I look around panting. "But… I don't… What's going on?"

He frowns. "You were just standing there when I came in, I thought something might be wrong… is there something wrong?"

I look down at the ground, confused, feeling like I might vomit. "T-there were… There's… Nothing. Nothing's wrong…"

Shepard frowns again. "Are you sure?"

I look up at him and I nod. "Yeah… Everything's fine…"

He looks unsure but nods. "Alright… Go get some rest. I'm going to finish the briefing, and I'm going to let everyone get a little extra sleep. We'll go planet-side in a few hours… Just go get some sleep."

I nod. "Yeah…"

I hurry downstairs, looking over my shoulder every few seconds. I rush into the elevator and slam my hand on the button to get it to go. I look around frantically for danger even as the elevator descends. I feel trapped, exposed, helpless.

Finally it gets to the bottom floor. I rush out, hurry into my Fort.

Once inside, I spin around and I face the doorway.

What's happening to me?

"Splicer?" I jump at the sudden sound and look at Tali to my right, panicked.

She frowns and reaches to me but I bat her hand away. This could be a trick! I-

"Are you alright?" She asks.

I stare at her, frightened and panicked, unresponsive.

She stares at me for a while longer, unmoving. "I… I was just leaving…"

She moves to leave, but I grab her wrist panicked.

"Please!" I shout, pulling her back. "Don't leave. I'm sorry. Just don't leave."

She looks at me, concern written in her eyes. I can see it through the helmet. "Splicer, what's wrong? What's going on?"

I breathe heavy and don't avert my eyes from hers. "Just don't leave. I need you."

She blinks and I slowly let go of her wrist. She takes a step back and I'm about to reach for her again but she doesn't move to escape.

She nods, slowly.

I slump down, my back against the wall and I bow my head into my hands, then I rest it in my knees, pressing it into them with my arms. I make myself as small as possible against the wall.

I squeeze my eyes shut so tight there's a strip of light in the darkness I create.

_Don't be afraid._

Go away!

_Don't be afraid. You're never alone._

No! Stop it!

_You don't need to be afraid anymore. I'm here._

No. You're not real. I don't need you! Just leave me alone.

"Shhh…" I feel arms on my back. "Just breathe. I'm here."

I breathe. I breathe hard.

* * *

**Later…**

I wake up alone, the lights are on. I get to my feet, feeling stiff.

Was that a dream?

I sigh and shake my head. It was so real. What happened to me?

I walk out of my Fort, holding a hand to my pounding head. Wrex looks at me, nods.

I nod back and start to head to the elevator.

"Splicer." Wrex says. I turn around to face him. "A word?"

I walk back over to him, glancing at Garrus who looks up at us as he sits on a crate staring at a datapad.

"Yeah Wrex?" I ask.

He glances at Garrus before speaking. "What're they paying you?"

I frown. "What?"

He glances at Garrus again. "I know what you're doing. Spying on Shepard."

I feel a fist sized knot catch in my throat.

He blinks. "So what're they paying you? I don't know a single merc that would spy on a Spectre. So it must be one hell of a paycheck."

"… 750 million." I respond sighing.

Wrex nods slowly. "Yeah… That's reasonable."

"How do you know?" I ask frowning.

He shrugs. "Live as long as me, and you'll start piecing things together better too."

I hesitate. "Uh… Can I ask your opinion of something?"

He waits and stares at me.

"Should I tell Shepard?" I ask quietly.

He pauses to think about it. "Mm… No. No you shouldn't."

I look at the floor and nod slowly. "Alright… Are you going to keep this to yourself?"

He shrugs. "Maybe. Buy me a postcard when this is over and we'll call it even."

"Deal." I stand and head back into my Fort.

Fuck. Wrex knows I'm spying on Shepard for the Council. Well, not for the Council specifically, but he knows I'm spying. How? I have no idea. But if he can figure it out, I'm not being discreet enough.

Today we're going to Feros. The Council will keep in touch with me during the mission, and it'll be hard to conceal what I'm doing to the others. So I'm going to try and keep my helmet on the entire time, to keep people from figuring out what I'm doing.

It's also going to be one hell of a mission. I know that for a fact because so far, everything's been crazy as shit. And I remember Feros is one mofo of a mission. I'll be fighting everything from varren, to geth, to zombies, to plant monsters.

That'd be something to put on a résumé. "Sent ancient plant monster to its death by dropping into an abyss."

"What?" Tali asks as the door to the Fort opens. "What'd you say?

"Oh, uh… Nothing." Fuck my inner monologue.

"Something about a plant monster?" Tali asks confused.

"Just thinking out loud." I respond quickly.

"About what?" Tali asks, pressing the issue. "Plant monsters?"

Quick, make up something good! "Uh yeah. Just thinking about how it'd suck to fight one and about how they're probably scary as crap."

Tali shrugs. "Can't imagine… So… Are we going to talk about what happened this morning?"

I swear I'm going to choke if people keep surprising me like this. My throat feels like it's been hit with a sledge hammer.

"Splicer…" She sighs and shakes her head. "Never mind."

She turns to leave.

"Wait!" I say quickly, moving to stop her. "I-"

"You what?" Tali hisses at me angrily spinning around and pushing me back against the wall. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry." I say. She sighs angrily and looks down. I push away from the wall. "I'm sorry! Alright? What else am I supposed to say?"

She looks up at me. "You're supposed to tell me what the _fuck_ was wrong with you! And why _I_ am the one who had to rock you to sleep like a frightened child!"

I ignore the obvious attack at my pride. "I don't know what was wrong with me! I don't know what _is_ wrong with me! I was scared. Alright? There it is! That's all it was! I was fucking scared! You were there! That's why! Alright? That's it! So get it through that damn bucket of yours that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" She's silent and I pause for a second. "What? Did you think it was anything more than that? Did you think if it was someone else that I would've turned them away? You're wrong! I needed somebody. I hate to admit it, but I'm only human, and sometimes I need somebody. I was scared."

"Of what?" Tali growls at me.

"I don't know." I respond throwing up my arms. "I don't fucking know. But it was just a stupid nightmare, or something. It doesn't matter. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm sorry that you had to do that for me. You're a good friend, and thanks for doing that. But if it makes you feel better, I won't put you in that position again."

Tali sighs. "We all lose our cool from time to time-"

"Just… Just stop!" I shout shaking my head, glaring at her, holding my hand up. "People don't lose their cool like that! Come on!"

"Yes!" Tali snaps back. "They do! Everyone loses it from time to time. You've got to accept that some people get that better than others."

"That why you think I maybe picked you over somebody else?" I ask her sarcastically, skeptically. "I don't know the ass end of anything about you. How the fuck was I supposed to know if you're the kind of person who gets me better than others?"

She shakes her head but doesn't say anything. She puts her hands on her hips and looks away a little.

"Hm?" I ask getting into her face, pressing her for an answer. "What is it? Spit it out! Why?!"

"Because you're my friend!" She shouts at me. She pushes me, pounds a fist into my shoulder, and pushes me again. She stomps her foot looks down, away from me. She rolls the heel of her hand against her mask like she's trying to wipe away a tear. She huffs angrily and pounds her palm against her mask a few times. She snaps and looks back up at me. "Isn't that enough? I mean that's hard enough to find these days, without _idiots_ like you messing it up! You're stupid! Keelah! You're so stupid! You're a stupid human! You think that I thought I was special for whatever reason this morning?! No! I didn't stay because I thought you thought I was special, or anything stupid like that! No!" She pauses again and rubs her mask with her hand and her arm pointlessly, trying to press through it to wipe away tears from her face. "I stayed because you're my friend! Keelah! Isn't that enough!"

I'm speechless. I just stand there, and let her pound her hand against my shoulder, let her push me back step by step.

"Stupid!" She gasps, crying, shaking her head, looking down at the ground. her voice barely a whisper from emotion. She pounds her fist into my shoulder. Punches my face. Dips her head and rests it on my chest. "Stupid!" She hits her head against my chest a few times, pounds into my stomach and against my chest with her fists. She reaches up and grabs a fistful of my hair, pulls my head down so my face rests in the crook of her neck, moves her head up to rest in the same place on my neck. "Stupid…" I pull her close and let her pull at my hair, squeeze me tightly, pound on my back, pound my shoulders, and cry.

I can be a real jackass sometimes.

* * *

**Later…**

Tali and I walk into the briefing room together, walking closely but not touching. I let her go to the other end of the room, while I sit as far from her as possible.

Shepard stands in the middle of the room, looking tired as all hell, typing on his omni-tool. After a few moments, the entire ground crew is gathered in the briefing room and Shepard, with a sigh, opens a holographic image of a grayish planet.

"This is Feros." Shepard says sounding confident and commanding despite his exhausted appearance. "The planet is covered with Prothean ruins. To the point that most of the travel on Feros is done via the ancient sky line system that extend between skyscrapers. The ground is so badly littered with crumbling ruins that the rubble reaches miles deep in some places. A few years ago, the colonization and exploration company ExoGeni formed the colony of Zhu's Hope in one of the sky scrapers on the planet's surface. Up until recently, the colony has relied upon mercenaries to protect them, but their contract was dropped, they've been abandoned, and now they're under attack by the geth." Shepard pauses and uses his omni-tool to bring up a close up of part of the planet's orbit. A red ping appears. "Scanners are picking up a single geth Cruiser, and there may be more of them. We can't be sure, but we're receiving some strange magnetic interference from the planet surface and we believe that they're sending out jamming signals. As you already know, these Cruisers are capable of housing half a million geth each. And they're able to deploy drop ships that can house several hundred geth alone as well. And we learn from our mistakes, so now we know that they're capable of orbital strikes as well. Though, I'm hoping that they won't resort to that, considering the fact that the sky lines are unstable as it is. This time however, it seems we have the luxury of time on our hands. So far the colony has reported only geth sightings, but they've also reported that they lost contact with their ExoGeni research group. Thankfully we can bring the Normandy in stealthily and kick back because the geth don't seem to want to destroy the colony. The ruins are falling apart as is, so a few orbital strikes could take them out no problem. But instead the geth are biding their time. Saren is biding his time. We're here to find out why. Saren sent his geth troops here for a reason, and we're going to find out what that reason is. Hundreds of lives are at stake, and the mission priority is protecting the colonists no matter what." He pauses for a second. "Questions?"

The room's silent.

"What're we looking for exactly?" Garrus asks, frowning.

Shepard shakes his head. "We don't know exactly. We're here to help the colonists with whatever they need help with, mainly getting rid of the geth. And we're here to find out what Saren's after."

"But we don't know what that is, right?" Garrus adds, frowning again.

Shepard nods. "Yeah. Why? Do you have any thoughts?"

"Well… He must be looking for something… And whatever it is, it must have something to do with the Conduit." Garrus says thoughtfully.

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

He shrugs. "It can't be a coincidence that he attacks a planet covered with Prothean ruins."

Liara nods. "That's a good point. On a planet like Feros, which might I add, is probably the best source of information on the Protheans we've ever seen, there's still vast stores of knowledge that have yet to be unearthed. Do we know what ExoGeni is studying here?"

Shepard shrugs again. "The ruins, officially. Specifically? I don't know."

"Strange too." Kaiden says frowning. "Zhu's Hope is ExoGeni's newest colony, formed only a few years ago. I heard they were going to pull out, and cut funding to the colony because there wasn't enough reward for their risk. But for whatever reason those rumors and their plans to pull out suddenly stopped, no apparent reason whatsoever."

"Think they found something worthwhile?" Ashley asks, interested.

"Whatever they found, it must be worth a great deal…" Wrex mumbles. "… If Saren is after it."

"If Saren's after it, we should be too." Tali says confidently.

"We don't even know what 'it' is yet." I interject. Well… I do.

Shepard nods. "Splicer is right. There's no doubt in our minds that Saren's looking for something. What is it? Is it a weapon? Is it a key to the Conduit? Whatever it is, we need to get our hands on it before he does. But even before that, we need to find out what it is. To do that, we need to help the colonists."

"Commander, what about the ExoGeni scientists?" Kaiden asks. "Technically they're not a part of the colony. Are we supposed to help them too?"

Shepard nods. "If they need it, we'll help."

There's a stretch of silence and Shepard looks around a little. "Anybody else have anything else to say?"

I look at the floor.

Shepard nods. "Good. Crew, dismissed. Go armor up and get ready. We're docking at Zhu's Hope within the next hour. Garrus and Liara are my team, but I want everyone else to hang around ready to go."

I stand and move to leave.

"Splicer." Shepard says. I turn to look at him. "I'd like a word."

I walk over to him with a sigh. "Yeah?"

"You alright for the mission?" Shepard asks looking at me.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask, somewhat angrily.

Shepard doesn't break eye contact with me. Instead he dips his head, furrows his brow, broadens himself, and gives me a real commanding look. "Don't. Fuck. Around. Don't avoid me either. You were weirding me out this morning and I did not like it. I'm not going to ask you what the fuck was wrong with you this morning, because frankly you're giving off a vibe that tells me you wouldn't tell me in the first place. But tell me you're okay for the mission and I'll believe you. But if you fuck around, and endanger the mission… I'll put you down myself for being so Goddamn stupid. Now tell me, and give me a straight up answer this time… Are you okay for the mission?"

As much as I want to tell him how many fucks I give for what he thinks of me, I bite my tongue. "Yes."

Shepard nods and walks past me without another word.

I breathe hard, biting back fury. I want to hit things, so much so that my arms are shaking and feeling hot. But I bite the anger back and take a deep breath. The heat and the anger dissipates and I press my hand to my head.

Better go armor up…

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Not much to say this week. I worked hard on this chapter, I like how it turned out. I think the character interaction felt pretty natural here, and the dialogue was pretty real.**

**So I hope you liked this real, if not theatrical installment of Massive Shock.**

**I hope to see you guys next week.**

**Thanks!**

**MB79**


	17. Ch 16: Feros P2- The Geth Threat

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 16: Feros**

**Part 2- The Geth Threat**

**10:19 AM January 6, 2183**

* * *

I pick up my helmet and put it on over my head. I open my omni-tool and turn on the long-range communicator that'll connect me to the Council.

"Councilors, this is Splicer. Are you reading me?" I ask as I start inspecting my weapons.

"_This is Councilor Sparatus." _I hear the turian councilor say, his voice a little messed up by static. _"The chip we gave you will allow you to create a live stream channel so we can see and hear what's going on. Give us a rundown of what's going on now. Quickly."_

"We're approaching Feros and will be docking with the colony Zhu's Hope in about 15 minutes." I respond, placing my weapons on my back.

"_Mission priority?" _Valern, the salarian councilor, asks.

"Zhu's Hope is reporting geth activity. Our main mission priority is to protect the colony from the geth, assist them where they need assistance, to discover the whereabouts of the missing researchers from ExoGeni, and, of course, to eliminate the geth." I explain a little annoyed because I feel like their bitch at this point.

"_What about Saren?" _Valern asks.

"Since we don't know what he's here for yet, we're making finding that out a second priority. Making sure the colonists are safe is job number one." I explain, considering shutting off the communicator.

"_Fine. But push to make that priority one as soon as possible. Saren sent the geth in force to find something important and at this point the colony and the researchers are expendable." _Valern says quickly. _"Council out."_

Funny. I want to say that they'd get mad if we let the colonists die. Hypocrites, for real.

I turn off the comm and sigh in relief. At least they didn't drag that on.

"Ball sack." I say randomly. They picked the right person for the job. Professionalism. That's my number one.

I walk out of my Fort and ride the elevator up. I hurry up the stairs to the CIC and to the cockpit where a few of the crew are gathered.

"… I don't know. There's total silence right now." Joker says to Shepard.

"What's going on?" I ask when I reach them.

Shepard glances at me. "The colony isn't hailing us like they should be. And they're not responding to our hails either."

"Is that bad?" I ask curiously.

Shepard nods. "Yeah. It's bad."

I sigh and look out the windshield at the clouds and the tops of skyscrapers poking out from them.

Being here reminds me that it's been a long time since I played Mass Effect and this stuff is practically new for me. All I can remember are the bigger details. Like the Thorian, and stuff like that. Other smaller details… like the plot to the entire Feros mission is completely over my head.

The Normandy enters a large hanger in the side of a skyscraper, and it looks like clamps and a walkway were added somewhat recently.

The clamps attach to the wing of the Normandy making it jolt slightly.

Joker frowns and points out the windshield. "Hey Commander. Check that out."

We see a guy running down towards the walkway, waving at us. Shepard frowns.

"A welcoming party?" Garrus scoffs. "That's a first."

"No, it's a first for it not to be geth." I add.

Shepard straightens and moves to the airlock. "Garrus, Liara, come on. Joker, get everyone else up here and tell them to sit tight."

"Aye, aye Commander." Joker responds.

The airlock closes and Joker presses down on the intercom button. "Ground team. Please report to the cockpit."

"_The commanding officer is ashore." _The ship's VI announces. _"XO Pressley has the deck."_

Joker spins his chair around and faces me as I lean up against a wall.

"A little bugged you didn't get picked for the ground team?" Joker asks me, trying to make conversation.

I shrug. "The way I see it, I'll be out there anyways at some point."

Joker shrugs. "So the question now is: Will it be now or later?"

I look out the window and watch as the guy Shepard's talking to gets shot in the back by a geth rocket. Shepard and his team light the geth up, but about two dozen more geth follow.

"Now." I turn towards the airlock, drawing my rifle and see Ashley and Tali at the other end of the CIC. "Shepard needs backup! Come on!"

The immediately bolt towards me, drawing their weapons too. I rush into the airlock and wait with my hand over the button for the other two.

The run inside and I hit it, barely giving them enough time to get their feet through. The airlock starts depressurizing.

"_Equalizing interior pressure with exterior atmosphere…" _The VI announces while the room depressurizes. _"Logged, Secondary Ground Party is ashore."_

The door opens and the three of us charge through down the ramp to the walkway. Geth gunfire flies past the opening in steady streams and it's far too heavy for us to cross yet.

Ashley gets to the corner first and peeks our, holding up her closed fist, signaling for us to stop.

I wait and she turns to look at the two of us. "Shepard and the others are pinned down! We need to provide suppressing fire, and then move up when Shepard has some room to breathe!" Ashley glances back out. "Follow my lead! On my go!"

She moves up to the corner and peeks out again. "Ready… Go, go, go!"

She spins out of cover with her rifle raised, dropping to a knee immediately and firing at the geth. I rush out next with my rifle readied and let loose on the geth, firing in their general direction and not really aiming much. Tali comes out last with both pistol and omni-tool raised letting loose high power rounds and tech attacks on the geth.

They move back behind cover and Shepard's team rises out to lay down additional suppressing fire.

"Let's move!" Ashley shouts getting back to her feet and running over to cover next to Shepard. I rush over behind a low concrete block with Garrus and Tali gets in cover with Liara closer to the action, behind a stack of cargo crates.

Garrus looks at me and nods, panting. "Glad you could join us!"

I shrug. "You guys looked like you could've used the help."

The geth resume their attack of our positions.

Garrus shrugs. "Eh, I had it pretty much handled. But, hell! The more the merrier!"

I holster my rifle and draw my shotgun. "Plan?"

"Wait for Shepard." Garrus responds peeking out of cover, his sniper in his hands.

Suddenly a Geth Hunter rounds the corner facing us. Fuck! I throw up my shotgun and pull the trigger instinctively and take the geth's leg out from underneath it.

It collapses forward onto its face and as it looks back up at us, Garrus levels his sniper with its face and pulls the trigger. The geth's head explodes all the way down to its back, leaving a white cavity in between its shoulders.

"Nice." I say, kicking it away.

Garrus shrugs. "Thanks for the set up."

I glance out of cover at the geth. Looks pretty bad…

Suddenly Shepard rolls out of cover glowing with biotics and blasts the geth with an impressive barrage of biotic Pulls. Several geth float up into the air helplessly. Liara moves out of cover next and puts a Singularity in their midst drawing both the floating geth and grounded geth into its powerful pull.

That's as good a cue as any! I move out of cover at the same time as Garrus and we move forward. Garrus has switched to his assault rifle and is barraging the helpless geth with bullets while I blast them with my shotgun. Ashley and Tali both join in, shooting down the geth.

Shepard moves up to the front and the rest of us follow. "Don't stop! Let's push these geth back! Show them what we're made of! Tali and Splicer on me! Drop them with your shotguns! Liara you're in the middle, show them how much biotics hurt! Garrus and Ashley you're on our six! You guys are sweeping up after us: I don't want to see anything but geth corpses behind us! I'm on point! Please try and keep up with me! You get me?"

"We get you, sir!" Ashley shouts extremely loudly as we form up in our arrow shaped formation.

"Let's show Saren what he's messing with!" Shepard shouts. "Let's move!"

We start moving as a group, our weapons readied. We enter a tall stairwell, with geth moving down the stairs towards us and with Geth Hoppers attaching themselves to the walls at all levels. We move up the stair together as a group, and Ashley and Garrus open fire on the geth.

"Liara!" Shepard shouts. "Pull those bastards off the walls!"

Liara lets loose a flurry of biotic Pulls with a cry of fury. Looks like our timid doctor is getting into it!

A geth hopper floats close to me and I blast it in half with my shotty. Tali takes a Geth Hopper that Liara missed off the wall by blasting its arms… and the rest of its torso off its body.

The squad of Geth Troopers moving down the stairs towards us starts firing down at us as we move towards them.

"Liara!" Shepard shouts as our shields start taking hits. "Put up a barrier!"

Liara grunts with effort and puts up a large bubble of biotic energy around us, shielding us from their shots. Fuck yes!

We round the next corner and come face to face with the Geth Troopers who hold their ground, even as we advance. They fire relentlessly at us and the barrier takes a few hits from the beams of energy the Geth Hoppers fire.

"Liara!" Shepard shouts, putting his hand on his belt. "Drop the barrier, now!"

The barrier is dropped and Shepard hurls a grenade at the squad of Geth Troopers. They don't even have time to react as the grenade detonates in their midst, sending them flying in all directions, one straight at us.

Shepard roars with rage and glows with biotics as it flies at us. He raises his arm and brings it down on the flying geth, obliterating it and turning it into a wave of white lubricant.

The geth blood splashes over all of us, especially Shepard, Tali and I. I laugh loudly as I wipe the blood off the eye holes of my helmet.

"Fuck Shepard!" Garrus shouts happily. "That'll send the rest of them running!"

"Watch it!" Ashley shouts.

I look to my left, at the Hopper flying straight at me. I raise my arm just as it's about to make contact with me and I blast it with Concussive Force.

Like before with Shepard's geth friend, this one is also turned into a wave of blood that broadsides the formation, getting on me mostly.

I look down at my black armor, stained white. Goddamn I look like a Rorschach test.

I shake the blood off my arm and we continue up the stairs to the top.

We reach a doorway with light coming through it and we pause.

"On my go… Go!" Shepard shouts. We all move through and I'm am literally about to pull the trigger instinctually.

But thank goodness I don't because we've arrived at the colony.

"Gah!" One of the colonists shouts in alarm at the sight of us. "Fuck! You guys scared me half to death!"

"Better than seeing geth. Then you'd be all the way dead." Garrus says, garnering a chuckle from me.

"You're those guys we saw coming in." Another colonists says. "Our leader, Fai Dan, wants to see you. He's on the other side of the colony, behind the freighter."

Shepard nods. "Thanks. There aren't geth back here anymore. We cleared them out."

"Thanks." A colonist sighs with relief. "You should go tell Fai Dan that, I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that."

Fai Dan this. Fai Dan that. I remember that I hated talking to the ass hat and yet that's all I get to do on Feros. I sigh loudly. Fuck.

We move around the barricades and towards the downed freighter. The people here, scattered about, stare at us strangely as we walk. I don't like how they're looking at me.

We head through the freighter, passing by a guy who looks at us blankly as we pass. Creepy bastard.

We head through the other side and spot a pair of people standing near another barricade.

One is an older looking Asian guy, and the other is a young Hispanic woman with short hair.

"Fai Dan?" Shepard asks approaching the man. "I'm Commander Shepard, Council Spectre."

"Oh, Commander." The man says with a sigh of relief. "I'm Fai Dan, leader of Zhu's Hope. I can't tell you how relieved I am that they finally sent someone to help us!"

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" The woman asks, glaring at us. Ha! Reminds me of Jada.

Hm. Jada.

"Arcelia!" Fai Dan shouts at her, angrily.

"Who the fuck you think you're talking here?" Ashley growls at her.

"Now, now." Fai Dan says, holding up his hands. "No need to be hostile, Arcelia didn't mean anything by it. Sorry Commander, but everyone's been pretty on edge since-"

A grenade hits the ground and rolls next to us and stops next to me.

"Grenade!" Arcelia shouts, diving away from it.

Me being the closest, I punt it away, kicking it as hard as I can. It explodes a second later, about fifteen feet away, but it knocks me on my ass from the concussion.

"Ow…" I grunt rubbing my ass. "That's going to be sore later."

Arcelia looks over the barricade. "We've got geth in the tower!"

Liara helps me to my feet while the rest of the squad fires at the geth moving through the doorway towards us.

"Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan shouts confidently… as he runs away towards the freighter. Nice leader they picked. Ballsy.

I join the rest of the squad with Liara at the doorway. Oh goody, another stairwell.

Fuck skyscrapers. We pick off the geth at our level before moving in and taking up cover behind the stone banister.

I shoot at the geth moving down the stairs towards us. They really have no sense of self preservation do they? Or tactical movement apparently.

They're just sort of running randomly down the stairs at us, shooting. Tali picks them off as they get to the bottom of the stairs and the rest are dropped on the way down.

They really do not stand a chance.

Finally one gets some sense, a Geth Rocket Trooper, who turns at us from the stairwell, weapon raised.

Just as it fires I throw up my hand with Telekinesis activated and not a millisecond too soon. Just as my hand is raised, the rocket is redirected and hits the wall next to the stairs, blasting rock, dust, debris and geth off the stairs and down into the endless abyss that is this crap-shack of a skyscraper.

The Rocket Trooper, the last survivor of its group raises its weapon at us, but Shepard uses a biotic Warp to tear it into pieces.

"Let's move." Shepard says moving up the stairs.

Once at the top we hear some frantic screaming. "Ah! I don't want to die I don't want to die! Please no! Don't let me die!"

I spot a colonist hiding behind a large chunk of stone, as bullets hit it mercilessly. A geth Rocket Trooper moves through the doorway with its weapon readied.

I dive behind the cover and tackle the colonist to the floor and use my armored body to protect him from the blast as the rocket collides with the wall behind the cover, showing us in flames, concussive force, and chunks of rock.

I push myself up off of him onto all fours as soon as the rocks stop falling on me. "You alright?"

"I think my ribs are broken." He gasps clutching his sides.

"You'll live." I say quickly, patting his arm. "Stay here, we'll be back in a jiffy."

I vault over the large piece of rubble and rejoin my team as they move through to a large open semi-circular room that looks like an atrium of some kind, because it has an open roof.

"That colonist alive?" Shepard asks as I rejoin them.

"Yeah." I respond readying my shotgun.

"Good work." Shepard says as we move into the curved room.

On our left, there's a raised portion, where the geth seem to have taken positions to have an advantage in the high ground.

Shepard fires up at them while he runs up the sloped side, completely forgoing the stairs for a more direct approach. Can't blame him. I'm tired of stairs already.

"Splicer, Ashley!" Shepard shouts from the top of the raised area. "Follow the path down there. Flank them from behind!"

"Got it, Commander!" Ashley shouts running past me and yanking my arm for me to follow.

I sprint after her, running along the lowered part of the room. We start taking fire, but we don't stop running, in fact we run faster.

I leap over a large piece of rubble and reach the end of the room. Ashley and I take the stairs to reach the high ground and start doubling back towards Shepard.

"Splicer, watch from above!" Ashley shouts pointing her rifle at the opening in the ceiling. "We've got Geth Drones!"

Five or six Drones fly down through the roof, moving towards Shepard. I activate Telekinesis and send one flying into another, making that one spin out of control and crash into a wall.

Ashley fires a short controlled burst into one and keeps the trigger held down as it barrels out of control and clears a path for Ashley's bullets to reach the other one behind it.

The last one spins around and starts firing at me, flying at me as well.

Fuck! I start doubling back as the geth's pulse rounds start strafing the ground at me.

Ashley takes out her shotgun and slides into cover as the drone flies over head, she falls on her back and shoots it with her shotgun. It gets blasted into pieces and the gunfire stops abruptly.

I stop running and look at Ashley, panting heavily. "Thanks."

She nods and gestures for me to follow. "Let's go! Not done yet!"

I sigh with exasperation and follow her as we round the corner again. Shepard, Tali, Garrus and Liara are still fighting the geth from earlier. But these other ones seem oblivious to me and Ashley.

I activate Electro Bolt and look at Ashley. "Whenever you're ready."

She grins and raises her rifle. "Do it! Crossfire!"

I hit the geth with Electro Bolt, exposing them to Ashley's assault rifle fire. They get loaded full of bullets, and Shepard and his team open up on them too.

Within a few seconds the Geth Troopers are reduced to piles of slag and white lubricant.

"Good job team." Shepard says with a nod and a grin. Suddenly geth start dropping through the opening in the ceiling. "Aw! Fuck!"

The new geth Troopers start shooting up at us and one of the geth, a Destroyer, moves up the sloped side of the high ground towards us, its weapon raised.

I raise my shotgun and shoot the Geth Destroyer in the chest, causing it to stumble and lose its footing for a second. It stumbles and I shoot it again in the head. But it gets back up despite the damage it's sustained.

Die already! I shoot it again in the chest but it still advances. It raises its assault rifle and opens up on me. I take a few hits but I shoot it again, blasting its arm off and ceasing its fire for a second.

Fucking die!

I pull the trigger again but my shotty's overheated. Crap! I ditch the shotgun and look up at the Geth Destroyer as it reaches the top of the high ground and towers over me.

The Geth Destroyer straightens again and it raises its weapon and I raise my hands. I hit it once with Electro Bolt making it spasm and let go of its weapon. I blast its legs to oblivion with Concussive Force and make it collapse forward.

Yet its still not dead. So I pick up its pulse rifle and unleash a flurry of fire on its head.

The geth, finally dead stops trying to kill me. I ditch the pulse rifle and reclaim my shotgun.

Looks like while I was focused on the Destroyer, the others took out the remaining Geth Troopers.

"Now we can update Fai Dan and get a vehicle safely out of the Normandy." Liara says with a sigh of relief. "We can go after the geth at their home base now."

Thanks Captain… No… You deserve a promotion. Thanks Colonel Obvious.

Shepard nods. "Let's hurry back."

We leave the curved atrium and start doubling back. I return to the guy behind the rubble.

"Hey." I say grabbing him and slinging him over my shoulders. "Told you I'd be back!"

"Ah!" The colonist gasps in pain. "Careful! I'm tender!"

"Oh, suck it up." I snap at him. "Grow a pair. A few shattered ribs aren't going to kill you."

We double back and head downstairs. As we move we hear a woman scream in panic from below.

"Help!" She screams, running down the stairs away from us, just as she's pegged in the back by a Hopper's laser.

Shit! Three Hoppers start jumping around the stairwell. Liara and Shepard use Pull to get them off the walls before Garrus, Tali and Ashley pick them off with their weapons.

We start moving again.

"Ah!" The man over my shoulders gasps in pain. "My- My back! I think I got shot by a geth!"

I lower him slowly to the ground and examine his back. "Dude! You're fine! Quit crying!"

"It burns!" He cries in pain.

I roll my eyes. He's just delirious.

I pick him back up and he shrieks in pain.

We finally get back to Fai Dan.

While Shepard starts talking with Fai Dan, I carry the man into the freighter.

I walk over to a guy standing idly, doing mostly nothing. "Hey, this guy's hurt, where can I take him?"

The man looks at me lazily. "In there."

He points at a room. Weird. I take him into the room and lay him down on a bed.

"I'll go find someone to help you alright." I say to him.

He nods. "Thanks… Oh shit! Look out!"

I spin around and come again face to face with one of those zombie like creatures. Fuck!

I stumble and fall back and scramble away and draw my pistol, shooting it in the face. It falls forward, dead, but a wall of the creatures follows. They swarm around me and the colonist, who screams helplessly and writhes in his bed as they scratch and claw at him.

I shoot the creatures as they approach but there's too many! My pistol overheats and I shout in rage and throw it at one of the creatures. A hand grips my shoulder and turns me around.

"Splicer." Garrus says, looking from me to the colonist writhing around, mumbling on his bed. "He alright? … Splicer?"

I blink and shake my head, pressing my hand against my pounding forehead. "Yeah he's… just shaken up…"

"You're nose is bleeding." Garrus says frowning at me. I rub my nose with my fingers and frown at the blood on them. "Are _you_ alright?"

I nod. "Uh yeah… Just pushed myself a little too hard I think. Nothing serious."

Garrus narrows his eyes but nods. "Alright. Take it easy though. I don't want to have to carry your fat ass like on Therum."

How many people carried me around on Therum? "I'll be fine. Thanks."

Garrus nods over his shoulder. "Shepard wants to have a little meeting outside real fast. Let's go."

I nod and follow him out of the room. Before I leave, I look back at the man still writhing and gasping, mumbling in fear.

"G-Get away… Please… I… Get away from me! GET AWAY!" He screams.

I close the door and follow Garrus out of the freighter, stopping to request help for the man from a passerby.

Is this the Thorian affecting these people? Making them hallucinate?

Has it gotten to me too?

God I hope not.


	18. Ch 17: Feros P3- Drowning in Hope

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 17: Feros**

**Part 3- Drowning in Hope**

**10:58 AM January 6, 2183**

* * *

I follow Garrus over to Shepard, who stands around with the rest of the crew, now including Kaidan and Wrex.

"Shepard!" Wrex exclaims. "Why was I not chosen for the ground team? I'm told that battle was glorious!"

Garrus nods. "It sure as hell was."

"FUCK!" Wrex shouts angrily garnering the attention of some of the colonists. "Grrr… Don't rub it in Vakarian."

"Calm down Wrex." Shepard says calmly. "Anyways, so I've been talking with some of the colonists and it looks like they're in need of some assistance. We're going to split up into three teams, two of three and one of two. The team of two will report to the colony's leader Fai Dan and see how they can help, in whatever way that is. I'll take two people down into the tunnels to kill some varren and to maybe find some power cells for the colony. Kaidan will take another two into the tunnels as well to eliminate some geth down there and open the water valves down there as well. Questions?"

"No sir." Ashley and Kaidan say together.

Shepard nods. "Alright, I'll take Wrex and… Ashley."

Wrex bashes his fists together and stomps with excitement. "Yes! Finally some action! You will see how we kill varren on Tuchanka!"

"I'm eager to see that." Shepard says, walking off with Ashley and Wrex. "Kaidan, we'll wait for you by the elevator."

"Alright…" Kaidan says thoughtfully. "I'll take… Tali and Splicer with me into the tunnels."

Garrus sighs in disappointment. "Really? I have to stay here and fix crap for these hicks?"

Liara shrugs. "It isn't all that bad. We get a little bit of a break after all that fighting."

"You don't know me at all." Garrus mumbles walking off quickly. Liara quickly follows.

Kaidan nods for us to follow, and he leads Tali and I through the freighter to the other side of the colony. We head back up the stairs and to the elevator where Shepard waits with Wrex and Ashley.

"You guys ready?" Ashley asks. "Wrex here is getting a little anxious."

"I want to kill something!" Wrex growls gripping his shotgun tightly.

"You guys ready to go?" Shepard asks rolling his shoulder. "The sooner we help out the colonists, the sooner we can go after the geth."

Kaidan nods. "We're ready."

Shepard nods. "Let's go."

* * *

**Later…**

We exit the elevator and go in different directions.

"Alright…" Kaidan mumbles looking at his omni-tool. "These tunnels are like a maze… but… Fai Dan gave me a map and marked the location of the first of the water valves, and said that they're all along the pipe… and that they'd be easy to find…"

"So why aren't we moving?" I ask blinking slowly.

"Because…" Kaidan mumbles squinting and looking around. "I don't know where we are…"

I nod. "Nice, nice."

"Send me the data!" Tali sighs exasperated. "I'll figure out where we are."

Kaidan shrugs and sends her the data. "Be my guest."

Tali looks at the data and nods instantly. "It's this way."

She leads us down a walkway and to the right. We get to a fork, where we can go left or keep going straight.

"This way." She takes us left. She immediately turns to the right when we hit another crossroads. "This is too easy. I can read this like the back of my hand."

"… But the back of your hand is covered." I say frowning at her as she takes us in several other directions.

She stops abruptly and looks at me, I assume she's glaring. I shrug.

"Well it's true." I mumble. "Just pointing out the flaw in your logic."

"It's just an expression!" Tali exclaims.

"Yeah, a human expression." I say furrowing my brows.

Tali shakes her head. "Never mind let's just keep moving." She looks down at her omni-tool. "Alright, it looks like we're… Oh… Uh oh."

Kaidan frowns. "Uh oh?"

Tali nods. "Yeah… looks like my omni-tool's being jammed… Geth."

I glance around. "Where?"

We all look around the small corridor we're in. They seem to go on for miles in both directions and there are split offs all over the place, including another one right next to us. How could anyone find their way through here?

A geth comes around the corner and I hit it quickly with Electro Bolt, causing it to spasm out and collapse. Odd, usually it takes more than that. Must be just a scout.

Tali looks at her omni-tool. "Hm? Only the one? Strange. My omni-tool's not being jammed anymore… Oh, never mind. Yeah it is."

Suddenly geth start pouring out of every corner, every adjacent corridor and every turn from both directions.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Kaiden shouts in alarm. "Run for it!"

We run down the corridor just next to us, running as fast as we fucking can. I spin around and shoot at the geth pursuing us with my assault rifle. They return fire and the corridor starts exploding with dust and concrete as chunks of the walls are blown off all around us. Some of the shots hit my shields but they hold for now.

Dust and debris cloud my vision and I cover my head with my arms instinctually and swing them to disperse the dust that's created by the geth's gunfire. They don't stop either, unleashing some real hell on us. I see flashes of light flying through the debris and feel them fly by my head. I hit a wall, hard.

I grunt and fall on my ass, shaking my spinning head. I hit a cross roads. When in doubt, go left. I get to my feet and run to the left, running as fast as I can. Chunks of the wall are still flying off of it and onto me. Clouds of concrete dust still conceal my escape and the path before me.

I keep running and running and I juke right as I am about to hit another wall.

As I change direction again, the gunfire stops. I stop and look behind me. Yes!

I keep running, turning two more corners. I stop and look behind me.

"Guys!" I say excitedly. "We lost them!"

I look around.

Oh fuck…

"Uh… Guys?" I ask meekly. "Tali? Kaiden? … Well… Fuck."

I look around some more. Now what?

I open my omni-tool. Still jammed… That means there's geth nearby still. Better keep moving…

I start running again, moving down the corridor. When the first turn comes up, I stop and look down it. All clear. I take it and jog down it slowly.

I holster my assault rifle and draw my pistol keeping my omni-tool open at the same time. I keep checking it periodically, but it keeps saying that it's jammed.

What the hell? What's jamming my signal?

I stop and look around. I sigh with frustration. I think the worst part is that I'm lost.

And I don't even have the map of this place.

So to count my fucks… I'm lost, alone, and being pursued by geth.

Fucking Shepard. "You gotta go into them there tunnels and kill some of them there geth. Don't worry. There aren't that many. Only some. Just some. Not, oh let's say, a small army."

I sigh with annoyance. I should just keep moving. I'll keep moving until my comm is back up, then I can contact Kaiden and get the data on the tunnels, so I can find my way out of here.

I start jogging again, changing direction where I feel like it. Fuck! Every turn I make, it feels like I'm just going back the way I came. The Protheans literally built this place to give you absolutely no clue of where you're going or where to go.

I stop and look behind me. An endless concrete corridor stands before me. I look forward again and am treated with the same sight.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck!

I can't stop.

I start moving again…

* * *

**6 Years Ago…**

**Somewhere in the Arctic Circle, Earth**

**3:13 AM January 1, 1964**

* * *

I drop down from the ledge, landing in the ankle deep, freezing water. I feel a shiver rock up my body from the cold. Got to keep moving. Before He catches up. I turn around and hold my arms high above my head, looking up at the Little Sister.

"Come on!" I say encouragingly waving for her. "Don't worry! I'll catch you!"

She smiles at me, lowers herself down the ledge and let's go. I catch her and hoist her up onto my shoulders. She wraps her tiny arms around my head. They're ice cold, like a corpse's hands.

She kicks her heels up as I start to walk again, laughing. "Hyaah! Hyaah! Let's go!"

I walk quickly through the water, keeping one hand on my Colt .45, with the other I hold the Little Sister's leg for support.

The lights don't work…

"Hey, can you find any ADAM nearby?" I ask.

She points down the corridor. "Yes! The Angels are this way!"

I let her lead me through the corridors until we come to a room large room with a flickering yellow light serving as the only source of light in the area. In the middle of the room there's a single dead Splicer, face down in the water. His body is broken, twisted and mangled. He was likely killed by something very strong.

I lower the Little Sister to the ground. The ankle deep, ice cold water doesn't faze her even slightly.

She hurries over to the dead Splicer.

I walk over to the entrance to the room and stand guard as the Little Sister works. It's not like in the games, where hordes of Splicer come to attack you for whatever reason. It's not like they can smell her working.

I lean against a wall. I reach into my pocket and take out a pack of cigarettes. I tap one out and place it between my lips. I really need to quit these things.

I light it and try to relax while the Little Sister extracts blood from the dead Splicer.

I rub my face tiredly and try to will myself into not thinking about how I haven't slept in two days. After only three drags I pitch the cigarette into the water and cross my arms, thinking about how I can feel the bags under my eyes.

About how my hair hangs in my face in wet, oily, dirty locks. About how the stubble on my face is getting long enough to hide my shallow cheeks.

"Look Brother!" The Little Sister says holding a hypo up at me. "ADAM!"

I smile wearily and take the gift from her. The Little Sisters trust me for some reason. Why?

I place the hypo in my backpack and put the Little Sister back on my shoulders. I have to get her to a vent.

"Where is the nearest Hidey Hole?" I ask her starting to walk.

She points and leads me back the way we came. We pass by the corridor we came from. As we pass it I look down it.

Oh fuck.

A pair of familiar Splicers shuffle about near the ledge and a third jumps down, using his powerful plasmids to slow his decent.

The Little Sister sees them and gasps. "The Hunters…"

The Hunters Three look up at us. Fuck.

These three are the most powerful Splicers in Rapture. I've ran into them many times.

Carmine the Changer, the leader of the Three glares at me through his welder's goggles, fused to his grey veiny skin. The water around his feet is pushed away by his aura of telekinetic power.

Zephyr the Liar, stares at me blankly, his face half obscured by a high collared doctor's coat with the sleeves removed. His scalp is ablaze with flames but no injury is sustained by this. His arms which are a sickly blue and end with frost bitten hands arc with electricity, and the water under his feet has frozen solid.

Finally there's Rayo the Walk, who smiles at me. He wears a black leather cap that covers his eyes, with hooks attached that stretch the sides of his mouth out into an endless smile. Insects crawl among the chains crisscrossing his torso, in and out of the many holes covering his flesh and a freakish crow sits on his arm, staring at me. His hands are feathered and clawed.

"KILL HIM!" Carmine roars, before rushing forward, floating above the water.

Zephyr starts to skate on the ice at me, moving surprisingly quickly.

Rayo points his clawed hand and a horde of crows fly out from behind him and fly at me.

I start to sprint away, running as fast as I can.

"Hold on!" I say, holding the Little Sister's legs tightly as I sprint. I draw my .45 and look over my shoulder.

Carmine rounds the corner first, followed closely by the river of crows.

I fire blindly, killing a few crows but doing no damage to the Hunters.

I keep sprinting, holstering my pistol and laying down Cyclone Traps in the hopes of slowing them down.

"Go this way!" The Little Sister screams pointing at the right corridor.

I follow her instructions and sprint up a ramp into a large bar and restaurant. As I enter the main room, I slide to a halt. Oh… this couldn't get any worse.

On the dance floor of the room, Eight stands looking out at the ocean. Eight was my biggest mistake ever. I discovered him deep in Daphne's Prospect, He was a genetically engineered super human, created to be the perfect Big Daddy. Standing at nine feet tall, with a chain saw instead of a drill he is one intimidating mother fucker. I didn't know what it was, I thought it was like a weird kind of Vita Chamber or something.

When I activated him, all the other ones were open except his. His huge metal tube with nothing but an Eight on it. I pulled a lever and he came out. Damn near killed me.

He has been chasing me the last two days. And now he's here and the Hunters are right behind me. My chances aren't looking good right now.

"Biggest Daddy!" The Little Sister shouts loudly, causing me to panic. "Help!"

Eight turns around and looks at me. His suit is a lot like Delta's but it has two small eye holes instead of one large one. He's motionless for a second. Then in the blink on an eye he charges at me, fast as a locomotive and roaring with a deep hollow toned voice. He backhands a table that gets in the way and it explodes into a million pieces.

Oh fuck!

I wait for my inevitable death. But it doesn't come when I expected it to.

I open my eyes and look up.

Eight isn't in front of me anymore. I turn around and look at him, standing in the path of the Hunters Three.

Is he… protecting me?

His chainsaw starts to spin with the whine of an internal engine and he raises his arm threateningly, activating Electro Bolt with his other.

Rayo laughs and sends a murder of crows at Eight. They swarm him and attack his head relentlessly, causing him to stumble back.

Carmine charges around Eight and towards me. I practically throw the Little Sister off of my shoulders as Carmine activates his special custom plasmid, Ghost Grasp, and picks me up with an arm made of swirling wind. He smashes me against a wall and throws me across the room.

I smash into a table, destroying it. I groan and curse and get back to my feet, drawing my pistol.

Eight is still being distracted by Rayo who sends birds and bugs at Eight in swarms. Zephyr meanwhile is trying to capture the Little Sister who is hiding under a cabinet.

He charges me again using Telekinesis to hurl a chair at me.

I throw up my forearm and let the chair smash against it, destroying it. It doesn't faze me much and I drop my arms and aim my pistol square at Carmine.

He sees me do so and dives to the side just as I pull the trigger. I must've missed him by a hair. I continue to fire at him, as he rolls behind a table he over turns to hide behind.

My clip is emptied and I move to reload. Suddenly the table he's behind flies at me and takes my legs straight out from under me. I fly forward and land on my face, my gun sliding away against the ground.

I look up at Carmine who walks towards me, drawing a knife. He kneels and grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks my head up. He laughs and presses the knife against my throat.

"I'm going to enjoy this…" He mumbles.

Suddenly Rayo screams. I look over and see Eight grabbing Rayo by the head, suspending him by the leather hat which is held on only by the hooks stretching his mouth. They tear into his cheeks and blood squirts out as Eight bounces Rayo up and down by the hat.

Eight pulls his arm back and turns on his chainsaw, ready to finish him. Zephyr charges at Eight, hitting him with all manner of Electro Bolt and Incinerate but Eight bats him away like a fly with his chainsaw and readies it again to finish Rayo.

"NO!" Carmine roars letting go of my hair to raise his hand and use Ghost Grasp to stop Eight.

I grab Carmine's knife hand wrist and jab him in the groin with my free hand. He gasps and I use Telekinesis to shoot the knife out of his grasp. It flies into the glass window and cracks form around it and waters starts to seep in.

I look up at Eight who drives his chainsaw into Rayo's chest. With a whine the, chainsaw starts to spin and tear Rayo apart.

I drag Carmine to his feet and knee him in the face, then drive my elbow onto the back of his head. I grab his collar and spin him around, grabbing the back of his head. I drive his face into the hilt of his knife, still stuck in the window. This causes the window to break open, water pouring in.

I use Telekinesis to manipulate the water and suck Carmine out of the hole and into the ocean. Just as he exits the hole I use Winter Blast to freeze the hole shut, also managing to freeze his foot to the window, trapping him.

I watch as he struggles to free himself, blood seeping from his forehead into the water. He starts to flail madly, struggling to find a way to escape the pain of drowning.

"Carmine!" I hear Zephyr roar, charging towards the ice plug, his flames growing bright. "I'll save you!"

I move to stop him but he shocks me with Electro Bolt, making me spasm and fall to the ground.

Just as Zephyr is about to shoot flames on the ice, Eight grabs his face and drags him back to the floor. Eight roars and stomps down onto Zephyr's face, crushing it to a pulp.

I pant and watch Eight stand there still as a statue for a second before straightening. He turns around and looks out the window at the limp Carmine who floats out there, his mouth slightly agape, his body still.

Eight walks over to the cabinet where the Little Sister hides and squats down. He holds out a hand and she crawls out and takes it. He lets her step in his palm, her foot no bigger than the tip of his little finger, and climb up onto his back.

He straightens and looks at me. He turns his chainsaw on twice as a warning before turning and walking away.

I guess he doesn't like it when I take his Little Sisters. Now alone and lost, I get to my feet to find somewhere safe and dry to sleep.

* * *

**Present Day…**

I roll around on the ground defeated. Ah! AAAAGGGGHHH!

I get to my feet again and look around a little bit. I punch the wall frustrated and break some of the concrete out.

I hear a grunt. I jump in surprise and look at the source of the noise.

"Oh." I say with relief, when I find I'm looking at Kaidan. "Kaidan I'm so freaking glad to see you man."

He stares at me blankly.

"Uh… Hey man you alright?" I ask frowning.

Kaidan blinks at me.

Were his eyes always… green? And… glowing?

"Uh, Kaiden, are you okay? Are you sick?" I ask frowning. "You look kind of pale… and green."

Kaiden starts to glare and glow with dark energy as his biotics power.

"Kaiden!" I shout at him stumbling back and turning to run. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

He draws his pistol and starts to walk forward with his head lowered and his shoulders hunched angrily. He thrusts his arm forward and lets loose a ball of biotic energy. I try to dodge it but it spirals through the air and hits me in the back and sends me flying into the wall.

I bounce off it hard and roll back to my feet as I hit the ground. I grunt in pain and hold my ribs and stumble back to my feet. I start running again, and turn to look at Kaiden still walking towards me slowly.

He raises his pistol and fires at me. His aim is impeccable and the shot hits me on the back of the head, getting stopped by my shields. He fires again and again, taking out my shields. I duck and cover my head.

"Kaiden!" I shout at him, rounding a corner and finding cover. "If you do not stop, I will kill you!"

I really don't want to, but I'm not dying here, now. I peek around the corner and a bullet strikes me in the head. I stumble back and hit the wall.

I put a hand to my head, feeling where the bullet hit, my ears ringing. It just made a dent. I'm okay.

For now.

I look up at Kaiden who stands over me, still glowing with biotics, his face twisted into a snarling glare.

He raises his pistol slowly to level with my head.

I activate Concussive Force and charge a blast. I snap my hand up and blast his legs out from under him. I draw my pistol at the same time.

He falls forward and hits his head on the ground. He looks up at me, his face now expressing surprise.

I level my pistol with his face. I hesitate for a second.

He glares again and he uses his biotics to tear my helmet off. I stumble to the side and roll over. I hear a gunshot and feel a lot of pain in my ear. I raise my gun and fire.

Kaiden drops dead, a hole in the center of his head.

Fuck.

That's going to screw with the balance.

I sigh deeply and press my forehead against the back of my hand, the gun still in my hand.

I wince and press a hand to my ear. He shot my ear. There's a big chunk from it now. It'll heal in a few seconds so it's not much of a big deal. That was a close call though.

I shake my head.

Fuck… Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Splicer?" I hear someone say curiously.

I look up and see Tali.

I jump to my feet. "Tali!"

Tali runs up to me. "Splicer, thank goodness. I've been lost in these tunnels for hours with geth around every corner."

"Same here. But I haven't seen a single geth since I lost them all that time ago." I say.

Tali looks down. "Is that…"

I sigh in frustration. "Yeah. Listen I know how it looks…"

Tali kneels down next to Kaiden. "Did… Did you kill him?"

"Yes…" I shake my head. "God I'm so fucked…"

"Why?" Tali asks looking up at me.

I shake my head. "I don't know. He attacked me! He was going to kill me, I had to! I don't know he wasn't… Wasn't himself."

Tali frowns. "Uh… Do humans have… green blood?"

I frown. "Uh, no?"

Tali turns Kaiden over onto his back and shows me his face. Green blood leaks out of his forehead where I shot him.

"What the…?" I say frowning and kneeling down too. I rub the blood with my fingers and go to examine it, but it leaves a trail from my fingers to his forehead like snot or spit. "Ugh… It's viscous… Like a slime…"

"There you guys are!" I hear from behind us.

I turn around and look at Kaiden in confusion. He runs up to us. "I've been looking all over for you two!"

"How did you find us?" Tali asks.

Kaiden opens his omni-tools. "My signal stopped being jammed for a little bit, so I tracked your omni-tools… Who's this?"

I move aside for Kaiden to get a look.

He blinks. "Uh… Well… That's… Uh… I'm… I'm confused."

"Me too." I mumble looking down at the corpse. "It attacked me, so I had to kill you- It."

Kaiden frowns. "That's… It's another me."

Tali nods. "Yeah, we were trying to figure that part out."

Kaiden shakes his head. "Well… I wish I knew… but we shouldn't worry about that now. I have a plan to get rid of the rest of the geth in the tunnels."

"Do you?" Tali asks standing.

He nods. "Yeah. I planted explosives all around these tunnels. We can detonate them and trap the geth in these tunnels."

"What about the water valves?" I ask standing as well, scooping my helmet back up as I do.

Kaiden nods. "We still need to find them."

"Alright." I say, putting my helmet on. "Which way?"

He nods in a direction. "This way. Follow me."

Kaiden leads us down another corridor, changing direction every so often, and while keeping an eye on his omni-tool.

"The water pipes and one of the valves should be just around this corner…" Kaiden says leading us around a corner.

As I round the corner, I bump into Kaiden.

"Kaiden, what the… Oh."

Looking past him, I see another him. Kaiden stares at it in confusion.

"Uh…" He mumbles. "It's another one."

The Other Kaiden is just staring at us blankly. Yeah I'm not going to let this one attack us.

I draw my pistol and push Kaiden out of the way. "Stand back, I'll take care of it."

"No!" Kaiden shouts, knocking my arm away. "We have to find out what it is. Communicate with it."

"Kaiden." I say with a sigh. "Quit being narcissistic. It's a thing, it can't talk to you."

"Foolish meat." The Other Kaiden says.

"Or not." Tali mumbles.

"You will all fall before me." The Other Kaiden growls. "Fall before my power, my will. You will bend before my will and you will fester and rot before the wake of time and destruction."

"Kaiden, you talk funny." I say nudging him.

Kaiden takes a step forward. "What are you?"

"I am deathless; my life is without end." The Other Kaiden growls, taking a step forward and glowing with biotics. "I am powerful; meat becomes my plaything." It takes another step forward and draws its pistol. "I am an artist; flesh is my clay and life is my canvas. I am the planet; my fingers touch every piece of rotting civilization. I am beyond your comprehension. You will bow before me. You will bend to my will. You are in awe."

Kaiden looks at me, then at Tali. "Smoke him."

We all raise our pistols and fire repeatedly at the Other Kaiden. It gets pumped full of bullets, falls to its knees, its viscous green slimy blood spurts out in streams.

We cease fire and it takes a harsh ragged breath. It coughs up a mouthful of the blood, takes another breath, then falls forward, dead.

Kaiden lowers his pistol and walks forward. He kneels next to the dead Other Kaiden and turns him over.

"That was… Disturbing." Kaiden says with a sigh. "Like watching myself die."

"On a brighter note…" I mumble walking over to the large white valve. "Here's the water valve."

I frown at the thing. Why is it all techy? What happened to the simplicity of mechanics? Turn the stick and it makes the stuff flow. Now it's all… Stupidly complicated.

I shake my head. The future is dumb. I can't help but think that this unnecessary computer on the pipe, which serves the same function as a regular valve, cost like 900 times more.

I type into it and open it. I hear the large valve click and whir. "Alright, it's open. Two more to go."

Kaiden looks up at me and nods, clearing his throat. "Uh, right. Let's move."

He stands and we move down the pipe to the next one, which is in sight, as is the last one.

I stop at the second one and point to the last one. "Hey, someone go open that one up too."

Kaiden nods and runs down to it. "I'm on it."

As I open the valve, Tali leans in to me. "Hey. What do you make of this copy business?"

"What?" I ask looking at her.

"The copies of Kaiden." She says looking at him. "Do you think that maybe that one's a copy too?"

I frown and look at Kaiden. "Nah… Doubtful. I mean there's obviously something bigger controlling these copies. Why would it shoot one of its own copies?"

Tali shrugs. "I don't know. To trick us?"

I shake my head. "Quit being paranoid. He's not a copy."

I open the valve and back away from it. "There. We can finally get out of here. I really don't like it here."

Tali nods. "Me neither. You wouldn't believe what I've went through down here."

"Tell me about it later." I offer, walking over to Kaiden who also finishes opening the water valve.

Kaiden looks up at us. "Alright, let's blow the charges and get out of here."

"We sure haven't seen any geth in a while, which is a good sign, I suppose." Tali says shrugging.

"Don't jinx it!" I exclaim looking around frantically. "Damn! There's no wood around here!"

Kaiden shakes his head in exasperation. "Calm down. I'm sure they're just… regrouping or something."

Just as he says that, a group of geth comes out of the corridor and opens fire on us.

I roll behind cover, drawing my assault rifle. I peek out of the cover and look at the geth. Only seven of them, but they're still pinning us down.

They advance slowly towards us. I should be able to take them out by throwing a big chunk of concrete at them with Telekinesis.

I spot one nearby and try to lift it with the plasmid but fail. What the hell? My plasmids… they're weaker somehow. Was it from using that pure ADAM?

I look over the cover again, at the geth advancing, unloading their weapons on us.

Alright… Think Rob. What can you do to slow them down?

Guess I'm doing this the old fashioned way. I take a grenade off of my belt and peek around the corner again. I didn't want to have to use this, seeing as how we'll need to use them on the colonists later, but I'm out of options right now.

I lob the grenade out in a high arc.

One of the geth spots it in the air and turns its rifle on it, shooting at it. What the fuck?

The grenade is shot, and explodes midair near the top of its arc.

Fuck.

Suddenly there's a rumbling and concrete dust starts to seep out of the ceiling.

"Run for it!" I shout, pushing myself up. I start running and I pull Kaiden to his feet as we go.

The ceiling starts collapsing, huge chunks of concrete come down around us.

"Wait!" I hear from behind me.

I spin around and see Tali, her leg trapped under a large piece of rubble.

Fuck!

"Kaiden!" I shout, doubling back. "Cover me!"

I reach Tali, sliding next to her. I use the piece of rubble as cover from the geth and I look down at her.

"You alright?" I ask, putting my back against the heavy chunk of concrete and pushing.

Tali nods. "Yeah, just stuck."

I grunt with effort as I push on the piece of rubble, which doesn't budge. "Crap…" I activate Concussive Force and put it up against the piece of rubble. "This might hurt a bit."

I blast the concrete rubble in half with Concussive Force, freeing Tali. I help her to her feet and we start to run again.

"Look out!" Kaiden shouts.

I throw my hand up and blast it with Concussive force, splitting it into pieces. I leap over the piece of rubble in front of me and push Kaiden forward.

"Let's go!" He shouts, sprinting ahead of us.

The ceiling starts to collapse around us; we're not going to make it.

I grab Tali around the waist and aim us so Kaiden's directly in front of us. I use Aero Dash and manage to get all three of us out of the collapsing tunnel. We burst out onto a metal walkway.

I let go of Tali and roll over Kaiden whom I'd tackled with Aero Dash.

I sit up and look back at the tunnel entrance. Concrete dust rushes out and wafts over us.

Looks like we made it.

I look at Kaiden. "Blow the rest of the charges?"

Kaiden gets to his feet and brushes himself off. He groans and rolls his shoulders. "Yeah… Just give me a second."

Tali gets to her feet slowly. "Ow, ow, ow… I feel like a giant bruise."

I crack my neck and groan. "That was tough. I'm so glad to be out of there."

Kaiden sighs and points to the other end of the walkway. "Let's get out of the way. I don't want to have to run anymore. Hopefully the blast doesn't do too much damage."

We follow Kaiden to the other end of the walkway and we turn back to look at the collapsed tunnel.

"Ready?" Kaiden asks, taking out his detonator. "In 3… 2… 1…"

He presses the trigger and we hear dull pops followed by a powerful quake. After a few seconds, the quaking stops and everything settles down.

"Good…" Kaiden sighs with relief. "Let's head back and tell Fai Dan and Shepard."

We start walking, but I look back for a second.

Those copies of Kaiden… Were they clones? Like the Thorian did to Shiala?

…

Here's hoping they're not.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that this is 3 weeks overdue. I really don't have a great reason, but needless to say, I was busy and forgot to update the last 2 weeks and didn't want to post on a day other than Friday, so, sorry for that. But obviously I failed even to do that. Sorry for making you guys wait so long for this. Funny story. On Friday, I put the chapter onto the doc manager and I'd thought I'd posted it... Clearly I didn't and I feel like a derp for that. My bad.**

**I hope you guys liked this chapter, and again sorry for the lateness.**

**There will not be another update until Friday, the 31st of May. Thanks for your patience.**


	19. Ch 18: Feros P4- Wipe Them Out

**Mass Effect**

**Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.**

* * *

**Ch. 18: Feros**

**Part 4- Wipe Them Out**

* * *

I walk into the colony with Kaiden and Tali. I pause to take a look around. It's really nice here. Very scenic.

It must be spring on Feros or something, because the reddish pink leafed trees are blooming with white and pink flowers that shed their petals as the wind blows.

I watch Tali leave Kaiden's side and walk over to the base of one of the tall trees. She looks up at it and then runs her hand on its trunk. She looks down and picks up one of the petals and examines it closely. I notice Shepard approaching her.

"Splicer." I turn to look at Liara. "Where have you been?"

I shrug. "Killing geth. You know, the usual."

"What took so long though?" She asks, following me as I walk slowly.

I shrug again. "Got lost a few times… You know… The usual."

She smiles. "Well, was the job at least successful?"

I nod. "Should've been. We got rid of the geth and restored the water flow to the colony."

She nods and smiles. "Good. That's good to hear."

I sigh and sit down on a crate. "Yeah."

"Is something troubling you?" Liara asks.

I nod. "Yeah… Something happened. We got attacked by… well… I mean it looked like Kaiden, but it wasn't Kaiden. It was a copy of him. We got attacked by a copy of Kaiden. More than one actually."

Liara frowns and looks at me confused. "That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. What could make a copy of a person?"

I shrug. "I don't know… I'm sorry, but could you give me a moment to myself?"

She nods. "Alright. I'll talk to you later."

She walks away and I make sure she's out of earshot before I open the link to the Council.

"This is Splicer." I say, waiting for a response.

"_This is Sparatus."_ Sparatus responds. _"Go ahead, Splicer."_

"We've just completed a few tasks for the colonists, and now we're headed off to attack the geth at their base of operations here on the planet." I say. "But there was a complication. Something strange is definitely going on here."

"_Explain."_ Sparatus commands.

I ignore his dickish personality. "Some of the colonists have been acting strangely and some of them have been hallucinating. Also… Well… We encountered a copy of a person."

"_A copy?"_ Sparatus asks confused. _"Explain."_

"It was a clone or something. A copy of one of the crew." I shake my head, knowing how ridiculous it sounds. "Also I think it was being controlled by something."

"_So you think this clone was a proxy of some kind?"_ Sparatus asks, sounding skeptical.

"Yes… That's all." I decide not to tell him that I have been experiencing hallucinations as well.

"_This is interesting." _Sparatus says. _"Obviously there's more going on than meets the eye. Keep us posted. Council out."_

I close the link and remove my helmet with a sigh. I remember when High School was stressful. But this? This life is definitely not what I had envisioned for myself when I was in high school.

I was athletic. I was smart. I liked people. I did well in school… I wanted to join the military. I wanted to be a cop, maybe someday an agent for the CIA or the FBI. I wanted to do a lot with my life.

And you can want things all you want. But unless you do something for them you won't get them.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face. Well… Can't miss something you never really had after all. I'm a person, with a life now. I fight bad guys for money.

And I kill Reapers to preserve that former occupation. A dull headache and an ache in my neck come out of nowhere and press against the back of my head.

* * *

_With every life, there comes a point, where they look down at themselves, see what they are and what they have. They look at those things, which they've had for a long time, and consider the fact: _

_Why was I made this way? _

_What forces shaped me?_

_I could have been this, and I could have been that. What happened to me, that I become what I am now?_

_Is it possible there's a reason that it happened this way? Perhaps. Is it possible that there was some guiding force involved? Yes, perhaps. And is it possible that things happened this way because you were meant for something greater? Oh yes, that's absolutely possible._

_Or, did it just happen that way?_

* * *

"Splicer." Shepard says, approaching me. "Come on, we're headed to the geth ground base. It's only a few klicks away, but we're taking the Mako, because the skyways are pretty exposed."

I shake the headache out and nod with a sigh. "Sounds good."

"Something up?" Shepard asks as I hop off the crate and put my helmet back on.

I shake my head. "Nope. Why would there be something wrong?"

Shepard frowns. "Tali told me what happened. With the… I don't even want to say it it's so ridiculous… the clone?"

I shrug. "Yeah. It was weird. We killed it. We killed both of them. If we run into any more we'll kill those too. Kaiden isn't that tough after all."

Shepard blinks at me.

"Alright, that was harsh. I apologize." I pause, fumbling with the correct words. "My point is… that it doesn't really matter what we run into here. We're going to eliminate all threats right?"

Shepard nods. "Right. We've got to be ready for anything after all. Anyways, we should be going. Get ready; this is going to be a little rough."

"Probably more than a little." I say with a sigh following him out of the colony. The rest of the team follows us slowly, and silently as we make our way to the garage where the Mako was brought.

We walk up to the door and Shepard presses the button, prompting it to open. But it doesn't and instead makes an unpleasant buzzing noise in protest to his action.

Shepard frowns and presses it again, making the buzz noise again. Shepard scowls in displeasure and starts pressing it repeatedly.

"Stop that." Tali mumbles annoyed. "It's clearly not going to open."

"Asshole…" Shepard mumbles stopping his attack of the button. "Fai Dan told me he gave me access."

"I guess not." Kaiden mumbles.

Wrex growls a little and starts pushing through the group to the door. "I'll open it, move aside!"

We hear screaming on the other side of the door suddenly.

"Wrex!" Shepard shouts. "Open the door now!"

Wrex roars and rams into the door with his shoulder. He moves back and rams it again. He shoves his fingers into the doorframe which crosses the door diagonally. He grunts and lifts the upper half up a little bit. He works his body into the gap and lifts the top half up the rest of the way while pushing down the bottom half with his foot.

"Go!" He roars, his voice strained with effort.

We run through past him into the garage. Once inside I raise my assault rifle and scan the room quickly for enemies.

A trio of geth recon drones sprays pulse fire over some barriers the colonists use as cover. I fire my assault rifle picking one off while the other two are quickly and effortlessly dispatched by the other members of the squad.

"Thanks, Commander!" One of the colonists calls after as we walk by her.

* * *

_Life is an accident. _

_The pious talk of miracles? Of men who walk upon water, of the sick and crippled being healed for no reason and without warning, and of the impossible becoming possible magically before their very eyes._

_These are nothing but illusions. Tricks. Charades. Wishful thinking._

_You want to talk miracles?_

_Talk life. Life is a miracle because it is an accident. Evolution is nothing but the result of an accident._

_You look at yourself and ask:_

_Why was I born this way?_

_What made me this way?_

_You can't answer that._

_So the universe, everything answers it for you:_

_Because._

* * *

I climb into the Mako, shaking my pounding head. I feel ill, maybe a little feverish. But I can still do my job. I'll just sweat while I do it.

"Splicer!" Shepard says, beckoning me forward to the front of the Mako. "You're helping me up here today; Kaiden's not feeling too well."

"Really? Me?" I ask, not sarcastically but surprised. "I've never done this before."

Shepard shrugs. "It's not hard. You look at the screens for me, tell me when geth are coming and you take the wheel for me when needed, like a copilot."

I shrug. "Sounds simple enough."

I take the seat next to Shepard's. This one has a control identical to Shepard's, in addition to a bunch of monitors hanging in I've never done this before."

Shepard shrugs. "It's not hard. You look at the screens for me, tell me when geth are coming and you take the wheel for me when needed, like a copilot."

I shrug. "Sounds simple enough."

I take the seat next to Shepard's. This one has a control identical to Shepard's, in addition to a bunch of monitors hanging in my face that I think can slide over to the other side.

I strap myself in and start fiddling with the monitors. They really make these things dummy proof. Everything's really straight forward, this shouldn't be too hard.

Shepard finishes warming up the engine and someone closes the door. One of the monitors, showing passenger info including vitals, status and position shows all the seats green lit. I assume that means everyone's aboard and strapped in.

"We good?" Shepard asks, flipping some switches bringing the engine to life.

"All good, Shepard." Ashley responds.

He moves the Mako forward slowly towards the door.

"So what am I looking for?" I ask examining a monitor that looks like a radar.

"You're looking for little blips on the radar and on the IFF scanner." Shepard responds approaching the door slowly.

I frown at the radar which shows a very large blob encompassing the entirety of the top of the radar, approaching the middle slowly. Is this thing busted?

The door begins to open slowly, bright light pouring in from outside.

"Uh…" I say frowning. "Shepard?"

Shepard glances at me. "Yeah?

I look up from the monitor outside just as the door finishes opening. "… I think there are hostiles in the area."

Shepard's eyes widen at the quote, geth army, unquote mobbing towards us slowly.

"Holy… Fuck…" I mumble, grimacing.

"… What now?" Garrus asks quietly.

Shepard's shocked face twists into an angry and slightly off putting scowl.

I see him reach for the throttle.

Oh God.

He rams the throttle forward and we shoot out at the hordes of geth. "GARRUS! FIRE!"

The turret immediately starts spewing lead out at the geth while the Mako bounces madly as we run a countless number of geth over.

The geth start firing at the Mako, thankfully it's very powerful kinetic barrier shrugs off much of the small arms fire from the geth.

I hear an unpleasant beeping from a monitor next to my head and I look at it. "Uh. Looks like we got a geth drop ship incoming from the West… er, East… Oh. Two drop ships, converging on us. Well that's not good."

"Shepard!" Kaiden shouts alarmed from the back. "Why're we doing this?! This is suicide!"

"We need to draw them away from the colony!" Shepard roars over the sound of geth and Mako gunfire. "They were headed right for the colony!"

The drop ships curve out from behind either side of the skyscraper up ahead.

Holy shit this is like Hardcore mode times twelve. The Mako breaks through the end of the geth formation and Shepard brakes hard. Why the fuck're we stopping?

The drop ships cross each other, dropping several armatures down a ways down the bridge. Then the fly off to curve around the skyscraper with the colony on it in a figure eight pattern, obviously to do another pass on us.

"Armatures, Shepard!" I shout alarmed. "We're surrounded!"

Shepard guns the Mako again launching forward at the Armatures.

Just as one of them rises, Shepard rams its left legs out from underneath it, sending it spiraling like a ballerina off of the bridge.

The collision was pretty severe and it causes some pretty considerable damage to our front bumper and windshield. A large crack in the windshield formed after the fact.

Shepard hits the e-brake hard and spins the Mako so its side faces the geth who are behind us now.

"Alright, people!" Shepard says unstrapping himself from his seat. "This is where shit gets pretty damn important or stupid. Depends on how you look at it! We need to draw those geth AWAY from the colony! That means, making us bait! So we're going to get out of this Mako and kill as many of those mother fuckers as we can, then we're going to get the fuck out of dodge. Get me?!"

"We get you, sir!" Ashley yells enthusiastically.

Honestly this sounds more fun than dangerous for some reason.

"Tali, switch out with Garrus, we need his range!" Shepard orders. "Everyone else, outside!"

He opens the door and we all hop out and curve around to the sides of the Mako taking up positions among debris. I take cover behind a large piece of twisted metal, drawing my assault rifle. I glance over my cover at the horde of geth charging us, led by a few lumbering armatures. And just at this second, the two geth drop ships curve back from behind the skyscraper.

Then I realize. This looks fucking badass! I take a picture with my helmet. Awesome! That's going into the vault.

I raise my assault rifle at the incoming geth as Garrus takes cover next to me, placing his rifle in a little nook in the metal we're using as cover. He takes a deep breath.

"This is intense." I mumble, feeling sweat build under my helmet. Partly because of the beating sun and partly because this is so intense.

Garrus nods. "Never done anything like this before."

Shepard comes out takes cover behind some rubble nearby. "Tali let loose whenever you're ready!"

I watch the turret swivel to face the geth. Then with a loud bang, she fires a shell at the geth horde, followed by a steady stream of machine gun fire. I raise my assault rifle and fire at the incoming geth, spraying, but not needing to pray so much.

There's so many geth, I don't really need to worry about missing.

I watch as the geth start dropping like flies, but there's plenty more to fill the gaps. There seems to be no end to them, even after we ploughed through them with the Mako earlier.

I let my rifle cool for a second then continue firing. "Shepard! I don't think we can kill them all!"

Shepard drops into cover to let his weapon cool, even though the geth haven't started to return fire yet. "We're not trying to kill them all-"

"WHAT?!" Wrex roars in protest.

Shepard rolls his eyes then continues to fire. "I _mean, _we _are _trying to kill them all. But we're not going to kill all of these geth right here, right now!"

"Good!" Wrex grunts, pleased. "I'd be quite angry with you Shepard if… Oh FUCK!"

I frown at what looks like a line of blue light getting brighter from the geth line.

"Everybody down!" Shepard roars dropping down.

I realize what the light is, and duck just in time to avoid the literal wave of geth weapon fire coming at us. NOW they're returning fire.

Holy nut basket this is intense.

"_Shepard!"_ Tali's voice comes over the comm. _"The geth fire is too much! The Mako's barriers can't take much more! We should move!"_

"Everyone, back to the-" Shepard's roars are interrupted as beams of blue light fire out of the bottom of the geth drop ships like those doom beams from Independence Day. And I assume they're pretty similar.

The beams start to hit the bridge, cutting through it with as much resistance as a knife through air and are headed straight for us as the geth ships converge to drown us in geth death light.

Geth death light.

I'm going to start calling it that.

Shepard doesn't even need to say, get back to the Mako, for us to know that we need to get back to the Mako RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

I sprint to the Mako, the geth death light getting close very fast. I'm barely inside when Shepard guns the engine and starts driving away from the light as fast as he can. He escapes into the skyscraper, coming out the side onto another sky bridge, this one only occupied by a few geth.

"That was fucking nuts!" Ashley exclaims, breathing heavily.

Shepard takes a deep breath and leans against the wheel.

"Well… Guess we're not going back that way." Wrex grunts. "But I killed about 30 geth, anyone think they can top that?"

"Uh…" I say, frowning, from the back of the Mako where I was thrown when we gunned it. "Am I the only one who realizes that there's only one way for that geth horde to go now?"

The Mako is silent for a second.

"AW FUCK!" Shepard curses slamming a hand on the wheel. "They can only go back towards the fucking colony! Fuck!"

"So that whole bait thing was entirely pointless?!" Garrus exclaims angrily.

Wrex shrugs. "Not entirely. Racked up like 40 kills."

"I thought you said it was 30." Tali points out.

"Quiet you." Wrex growls at her.

"What do we do? We have to warn the Colony!" Ashley exclaims.

Shepard nods. He hits the comm button. "Fai Dan! It's Commander Shepard. Come in?"

"_Fai Dan, here." _Fai Dan responds. _"What's up, Shepard?"_

"We encountered a horde of geth on the sky bridge outside of the colony. They're headed your way!" Shepard says somewhat worried.

"_I'm aware, Commander." _Fai Dan responds. _"I watched your battle from up here. Astounding might I add, but the geth are still marching in your direction. I don't think they actual intend to come this way."_

"Really?" Shepard says surprised. "Well, in any case, you best stay on your toes, and update us on what they're doing soon."

"_Will do, Commander. Fai Dan out."_

"Weird." I mumble.

Shepard shrugs and throttles the Mako again. "Yup."

We start moving down the sky bridge, this time, mostly uneventfully. The geth resistance is light, especially in comparison to last time. We're getting close to the ExoGeni headquarters; this'll be over very soon.

Suddenly, our Mako makes a madly impossible sharp turn towards a 15,000 foot drop to the rubble strewn surface of Feros.

"Shepard!" I shout as he exclaims in alarm and pulls the e-brake and yanks the wheel the opposite direction.

This makes the Mako slide and roll over, landing on its side, nearly toppling over the edge, but settling just at it.

I let out a breath I'd been holding.

Shepard clears his throat. "Splicer, Tali… Liara. Head out side and… Take a look around. Make sure the area's clear."

I unstrap myself from my seat and walk on the wall over to the door. Realizing that I couldn't possibly get out of it, seeing as how I'm standing on it, we have to go out the hatch on the turret… Which is hanging over the edge of the sky bridge right now.

Well… Rob you've never been afraid of heights before, why should you be afraid now.

"It… looks like we have to go out this way…" Tali says from the turret.

I nod. "Looks like it. Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman." Tali says sarcastically, opening the hatch. I hear wind whipping past. "Oh… Oh fuck that's high."

I hear her climbing over above me then her landing on the bridge.

"After you." I say to Liara.

Liara just looks at me and then climbs out of the hatch. "Eh… 'Go on an adventure! It'll be fun!' Now look where you are. Hanging off a turret 15,000 above a crumbling city."

She climbs over the top of the Mako as well and I hear her land on the bridge as well.

I guess it's my turn then…

Did I mention I wasn't afraid of heights?

I poke my head out of the hatch and look straight down. Those clouds look cushy enough to catch me if I fall.

I make a distasteful look. Yeah. I was lying. Heights and I don't agree. I hold my breath and take a look about. Looks like I'll have to step out onto the barrel of the turret to reach the ladder to climb over the side of the Mako.

Alright no problem, you did gymnastics for half an hour once in middle school before giving up. It's like a high wire walk.

Except you never did that in middle school gymnastics. But the fundamentals are similar I'm sure.

I pull myself out of the hatch and onto the turret barrel slowly, sitting on it, my legs wrapped around it like a vice grip.

Jesus fuck.

I reach out for the ladder when I hear Tali shout in alarm and the Mako lurches.

FUCK!

I lose my balance and fall off the barrel, but I manage to catch myself on the barrel with my arm. Oh shit! I grab onto it with my other arm, and I feel it lurch again. Oh shit! Something's pushing it off! I there ever was an emergency this is it!

Suddenly very determined, I pull myself up onto the barrel of the turret, which is at a very bad angle, and I feel it dropping by the second. The Mako is falling off the edge, with Garrus, Wrex, Kaiden, Ashley and Shepard still inside. I leap to the ladder, throw myself up it, and leap off the toppling Mako onto the sky bridge.

As I leap, I reach into a compartment into my belt and take out the syringe of pure ADAM I decided to carry with me in case of dire emergency.

I'd say it's appropriate to use this now.

I stab it into my neck as I land a ram the plunger down. I spin around, drop to a knee and activate the most powerful Telekinesis I've ever mustered.

With a roar of effort I catch the Mako with Telekinesis, just as its wheels are about to fall from the edge, my hands twisted into claws, every muscle flexed to the point of tearing. Rocks, pebbles and debris around me floats off of the ground, my face twisted into a snarl, my teeth bared, I feel like my body is being ripped apart.

But I'm holding the Mako. All 15 tons of it. I growl and start to pull it back towards me. But some biotics hit the Mako, pushing it back and make me gasp in pain as I feel like I'm holding the Mako with my own two arms.

I slowly twist my head to look at the perpetrators and stare shocked at 3 copies of Wrex. The Other Wrex's are all identical to the regular Wrex, down to the claw scar. The only difference is his head plate and skin is a sickly yellowish green like snot.

Two of the Other Wrex's are keeping Tali and Liara buys, the other Other Wrex walks towards me slowly, a shotgun in one hand. With the other hand he lazy shoots powerful biotics at the Mako, making it tip further and further off the edge. It's almost upside down now.

He's going to kill me if I don't do something. I'll have to let go with at least one arm. I don't think I can hold it with just one arm.

I have to try.

I throw my arm back, grabbing a piece of rubble and throwing it at the Other Wrex approaching me. I quickly catch the Mako again as it was starting to fall. It's almost entirely upside down. It's merely pinned against the side of the sky bridge now. If I let go, it'll fall, no stopping it.

I look back at the Other Wrex coming at me. The rubble hit him. But just like regular old Wrex, a piece of concrete isn't going to slow him down much.

I need more power this isn't enough.

"SNAKE…" I grunt through gritted teeth as I hold the Mako, using every bit of power in my body. "Inject all of my EVE!"

"_WARNING: This course of action is inadvisable!" _Snake responds.

"DO IT!" I scream as I feel Other Wrex's shadow loom over me.

"Injecting…"

My body explodes with pain. It explodes with power.

I roar and scream, my vision going red. I feel Other Wrex's shotgun press against the back of my head which feels like it's splitting apart.

I feel the power surge, and I throw my arms back, making the Mako swing up, balancing itself on the edge on its left side wheels. I clench my fists and feel blood shower over me as I tear Other Wrex apart on the microscopic level with my mind.

I spin around and stand raising my hands. I pull the last two Other Wrex's together with overwhelming force, akin to that of a bullet in travel. Of course I opt for overkill.

I pull them back apart, suspending them in the air. I clench my fists and blood spurts out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. I tore their insides apart. With my mind.

I slam their corpses back on the ground and spin around again, facing the underside of the Mako as it's about to topple over again.

I catch it and with a roar of insanity, I yank my arms to the ground, slamming the Mako down onto the ground with all six wheels situated firmly and surely on the sky bridge.

I lower my arms, my power still not subsiding even after the battle and the adrenaline have been finished.

"Ancestors, Splicer." Tali says walking up to me. "That was intense… You can come down now."

I frown at her, noticing she seems to be shorter…

Oh, I'm floating.

Interesting.

"Uh you're um, bleeding." Liara mumbles pointing at my face.

I frown and touch my face and find I'm bleeding from my nose, eyes, mouth and ears.

Well… If they didn't think I was a freak show before they do now.

I focus on deactivating the plasmid, but find I can't quite yet. Maybe the overdose of EVE needs to be burnt out.

The remaining passengers of the Mako exit slowly. Clearly they're a little disoriented. I would be. I imagine that was the worst roller coaster they've ever been on.

Shepard comes up to me. "Splicer. I imagine that was your doing? Nice work but did you have to be so… Rough?"

I shrug. "Probably not, but I was forced to multi-task." I gesture to the dead Other Wrex's. "Do you believe me about the copies now?"

Wrex frowns and approaches one. "Ugh. I don't actually look like that do I?"

"No, Wrex. You're much prettier." Garrus jokes frowning at the copies, garnering a growl from Wrex.

Kaiden frowns as well. "Now they're of Wrex? What's going on here?"

Tali frowns, scanning one of the copies. "I don't know. They definitely biological. But according to my scans they're more plantlike in physiology."

"Well, that makes sense." Garrus says nodding thoughtfully. "Wrex is very much like a delicate flower."

"I will end you, Turian." Wrex growls

Shepard kneels next to one of the copies. "Well, they look a lot like Wrex, I'll give them that. But why? What's making these copies?"

I know! I thought the copies could only be made if the host was like eaten by the Thorian! Or shoved into one of its gross… veiny… fetus sacks! And I thought they could only be puked out of its… gross… tentacle filled… vagina mouth!

This is confusing as all hell!

"You will surrender!" We hear Liara say. We all look at her and frown in total confusion. She points behind us.

We turn around and see an Other Liara, her skin a pale green. "You will all kneel before me! I am life! I am death! I am the rot! I will consume your flesh and sculpt you into my puppets! My fingers touch every inch of the rotting corpse of this civilization, even those who walk upon it! None are out of my reach! I control all here! I AM FEROS!"

The Other Liara starts to glow bright blue with biotics but I throw up my arm in a a slashing motion and cut in two as if with a sword diagonally up across the chest. With my mind.

Her two pieces drop dead, her biotic glow fading away.

"Did you have to kill her so graphically?" Liara mumbles sounding sick.

I shrug. "I can cut things in half with my mind. Why not enjoy it while it las- AAAARRRGGGH!"

I feel something cleave my head in two, the pain shoots down to my spine like I'm being cut in half.

The pain is unbearable, and I black out.

* * *

_Your resistance is futile. You will be the tools with which I carry out the necessary weeding. You will be my weapons against the invaders. I cannot die, lest Feros die._

_You look at yourself. Wonder why it is, what could have been? Have you lost bliss?_

_Have you ever felt true bliss?_

_I am true bliss. Surrender to me._

_Surrender._

* * *

**A/N (PLEASE READ THIS ONE FOR ONCE):**

**Alright guys, this… this is… it. This is it. I'm leaving you see. In just two days, I'm leaving for Army basic training, and I won't be back with enough time to write until March 2014.**

**I wanted to simply thank all of you for coming with me this far. And it's far from over. I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but life caught up with me. I didn't want to leave you with nothing before I left.**

**I'm going to miss this so much, and I appreciate everything you guys have done for me. Thank you guys so much for reading, and reviewing, and for being my friends away from reality.**

**Writing for me has really changed. When I started writing, it was a way for me to project everything I wanted to be. My hopes and my dreams and my fantasies were printed down into black and white, because when I started writing, I didn't really think that they could ever happen. When I started writing, I wasn't super confident in myself, I didn't think I was handsome, and I definitely wasn't quite as athletic at the time as I had been once, or are now. I didn't do very well in school because I really didn't care much about it. I was lonely. I was quiet. I wasn't happy.**

**But you know it's been a long time since I started writing. I've changed. I've grown more mature, I've learned, I've loved, and I've grown. I'm a man now. I kind of look in the mirror nowadays and I throwback and look back at myself a few years ago and I can see how much I've changed. I can SEE it. And it all happened really fast. Within a year.**

**I became more responsible, I learned discipline, I learned what it means to have duty, and pride in your work, whatever work that may be. I've learned how to be a part of something bigger than myself. I've learned to enjoy the little things, and appreciate what I've got even if it takes me a while to realize it.**

**I've learned to have respect for your superiors. I've learned how truly love, how to truly hate, and how to forgive and forget. I've learned what it really means to be happy, and to be angry and to have self control and how to let go, to accept people for who they are, and respect them for it. I've learned what it means to change, physically, mentally and emotionally. I've become strong, but also learned what my weaknesses are. I know where my commitments lie, what I love to do and who I love do those things with. I know who my friends are. I know who I can trust. I know who I'll be friends with for the rest of my life. **

**I understand myself better than I've ever understood myself. Part of why I started writing was to learn more about myself. Did I succeed? In a way. Not quite. Was it because of writing? Only a little. Writing was a way for me to chronicle my change. A way for me to put what was grey into black and into white.**

**I know what I want to do. I know what my purpose in life is now.**

**I know I'm not the smartest person around. I'm no slouch when it comes to intelligence, but I'm not going to cure cancer, or end world hunger. I want to make a difference. All I have to offer the world is my body, my physical form. I can't offer my mind, because I don't think it's good enough, so I'll go out and do what I can. I'll try harder to become good enough, to better myself everyday. I'll protect anybody who needs protecting. I'll help anybody who needs my help. I'll fight for people who can't fight for themselves.**

**More than that, I want to take everything that I've learned. I want to put it down in front of me, for everyone to see, not just me. I want to share it with them and tell them, that this, all this, everything I've learned about myself and everything, is not enough.**

**It's never enough.**

**My hopes, dreams and fantasies? Yeah you know there still there, still the same, more or less.**

**But I guess in a way, a part of growing up is realizing that some things are only really attainable if you want them to be. **

**When people say that the sky is the limit? I used to think that was a bunch of hogwash. How could the sky be the limit? I can't even reach that high…**

**That. That's what was bullshit. The sky IS the limit.**

**I know it's cliché, but there is no limit if you don't want there to be. The barriers in your way are ones you erect yourself.**

**All you need is that spark. That confidence, that drive, that push, that ****AMBITION****, to ****WANT**** to go out and do:**

**WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT TO DO!**

**The only thing stopping you from fulfilling your dreams is you! If you think something else is stopping you, you're fooling yourself! There is NEVER a black and white. There are shades of grey. There are thousands of shades of grey.**

**Ha, ha, he said shades of grey.**

**Seriously, if there's anything that you could ever take from me, it'd be this simple advice.**

**Go out. Make your dreams come true. There is always a way to do it, there are thousands of roads out there for you to take and people to help you along the way.**

**So, with one last thanks, for reading, reviewing, and helping me find out more about me:**

**This is Mockingbird79**

**Signing out.**


End file.
